Like many area parents, Sara D’Amelio tries to be conscious about what she feeds her family. Every week, the founder of the skincare line Skincando goes to the farmers market, stocking up on dill, cilantro, radicchio, and Italian parsley. Meals for her brood are arranged on glass plates, and they exclusively drink Mountain Valley Spring Water—never tap. Sometimes, as a treat, the Silver Spring resident will fly in specialty products such as hay.
If you’re wondering why her family has the diet of bunnies, that’s because Peanut Butter, Mittens, and Luki are bunnies. “I’m in the whole-wellness beauty industry—I’m very conscious about my diet,” says D’Amelio. “It trickles down to my pets.”
She isn’t alone in taking a more human approach to pet food. The “fur baby” movement, in which pets are treated like members of the family, has officially hit the dog bowl. Or in the case of these luxe bunnies, the glass plates. (“[They] don’t know what plastic is,” says D’Amelio.) In a world of dog strollers and pet acupuncture, some animal lovers are forgoing pet food for meals that more resemble our own diets in quality, content, and even presentation.
For Linda Nguyen, a visit to the people doctor served as dining inspiration for her nine-year-old Labrador mix, Tucker. A physician recommended more omega-3 fatty acids, and Nguyen, a recruiter living in Brookland, figured the same advice could benefit her dog. So on many nights, she pulls out the air fryer to make two wild-caught, fresh salmon filets: one for her husband and one with no seasoning for Tucker. “Funny enough, I don’t eat salmon at all,” says Nguyen. “I refuse—I wear gloves to touch it.” But anything for her fur baby. Beyond the fish, Tucker’s diet loosely resembles that of a CrossFit trainer: bone broth, boiled chicken breasts, pumpkin purée, carrots, and rice.
When you’re eating fresh food daily, birthdays call for a special treat. Tucker’s celebration includes a family picnic on the National Mall, complete with his own dog-friendly charcuterie board and a birthday cake baked by Nguyen.
Birthdays are a big food moment for another Lab mix, Rafa, who lives in Columbia Heights with Emmie and Lucas Derbäck. His day-to-day diet is nothing to bark at: freshly cooked salmon or ground turkey paired with vegetables and kibble, consumed in view of an eye-level gallery wall featuring framed photos of family members and dog friends. But on birthdays, Emmie and Lucas go full Michelin to celebrate their rescue.
For his second fete, they made Rafa a double-decker burger. “He took that down in three chomps,” says Emmie. “After that, we decided on small plates.” Last year, the feast was the Japanese hot-pot dish shabu shabu, full of thin cuts of meat, noodles, and broccoli. The salmon-loving dog has also enjoyed an omakase spread, and Emmie is considering Spanish tapas for his fifth birthday.
Still, despite his gourmet options, Rafa remains a dog at heart. Like many of his peers, one of his favorite foods is a simple treat: peanut butter.
This article appears in the March 2026 issue of Washingtonian.
