I first wrote about Madisson Jensen, then 16, in February 2020 just after she and her English Mastiff, “BISSOH CH Greeson N Yabig’s JNJ Turn The Page” (aka “Page”), returned home from the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, held at Madison Square Garden in New York, where Page was selected as the Grand Champion Select Bitch in her breed class.
“I couldn’t believe it,” said Maddison at the time. “I was a ball of nerves and Page was being a little bit of a brat. I was going up against pro handlers who have been in the sport forever. I was the only one who wasn’t a professional handler and I was the youngest. When the judge pulled us out of the line, I was in shock. I was overwhelmed. It was just crazy.”
It was a fun to write Madisson and Page’s victory story — so a couple of weeks ago, when Madisson’s mom, Yvonne Jensen, reached out to me and asked if I remembered her daughter and would I like to know what she was up to now, I, of course, said “yes!” and “yes!”
Life after Westminster
After returning home from the prestigious dog show, life rolled along for Madisson, who graduated from Core Butte Charter School in 2021 and got a job driving vans for special education students for the Oroville Union High School District.
She also continued to show her beloved 200-pound Mastiff, and the pair went on to win many more titles in the arena until 2022 when Page was retired. By that time, Maddison was becoming established in the dog world as a skilled handler and was regularly hired by other owners to show their dogs. She said she is especially fond of showing the breeds that outweigh her including Mastiffs, Rottweilers and Great Danes — such as her own new Great Dane show dog, INT CH Bigfoot Legend Venom Bites Back CHIC VHMA TKN TKI TKA (aka “Venom”).
“I love it,” said Maddison about traveling around the country showing dogs. “I get to meet so many dogs, and they all have quirky, different personalities. I get to go to a ton of different places and meet so many people. The dog show people have become like a second family to me.”
Now Page is a “big happy couch potato,” but her legacy in the show arena and dog world lives on in a whole new way.
Page is not only allergic to chicken but also a “picky eater” — so finding training treats and show treats, called “bait,” that she could and would eat while she was showing was an “absolute pain,” said Maddison.
“So I got this crazy idea to make my own treats for her, ones that she would not be allergic to and like,” said Maddison. “The first trial runs were interesting and didn’t go as planned, but after a few tries, I got it figured out and she went crazy for the stuff.”
The “stuff” was freeze-dried, hand-cut bits of beef heart. Maddison used them for Page — and then, after the dog’s retirement, she continued to make and use the Page-inspired treats for Venom as well as dogs she was showing for other owners.
“I was using them at shows and people would ask me, ‘Do you have any extra bait?’” said Maddison. “I’d tell them, ‘I just have these,’ and give them a couple of the ones I made. Then people kept coming back to me saying how much their dogs really liked the bait and asking where they could buy it. That’s when I started thinking about making them to sell.”
Maddison, who changed jobs from driving vans to working full-time as a paraprofessional for the school district, started “bouncing” the idea for a dog treat business off her parents. Her dad, Dean Jensen, had business experience — and her mom, who had worked as a vet tech for years and developed her own raw-food blends to feed the family dogs, had canine nutrition experience.
Both mom and dad supported her idea — and, with mom offering to be her business partner, Maddison began creating freeze-dried chicken, liver and beef treats and bait in addition to the original beef-heart product, all made with raw ingredients purchased from Foothill Meat Company in Oroville.
Awesome Rawsome
In late 2021, Awesome Rawsome, the company founded by Madisson and Yvonne, made its official debut and started taking online orders for the specialty freeze-dried treats through its website, awesomerawsome.com.
Maddison continued using and sharing Awesome Rawsome treats with other handlers. Soon, the Jensen’s began setting up Awesome Rawsome pop-ups, vending at dog shows with Yvonne and Maddison’s grandmother, Rosie Aeschbocker, staffing the booth while Maddison was busy in the show arena.
It didn’t take long before Awesome Rawsome had faithful customers and several wholesale buyers. Locally, retailers including Better Deal Exchange and McClarren Ranch Supply, in Oroville, started carrying the treats. Two Chico dog training businesses, Canine Connection and Ridgeside K9 NorCal Dog Training, are also Awesome Rawsome customers.
“I love the feedback I get from customers,” said Maddison. “They tell me how their dogs would get afraid or nervous during training or showing — but since using our treats, the dogs look forward to both. To share what I make with others who share my passion for dogs and hear that it makes a difference for their dogs is amazing.”
With business steadily growing, Awesome Rawsome recently invested in a new large freeze dryer and expanded into a new shop that Maddison’s dad built on the family’s property. There, the entire family pitches in on production, packaging and shipping.
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The business growth has also allowed the Jensen’s to start giving back to the community that has been “so supportive of us” by providing Awesome Rawsome products for fundraising raffles and auctions supporting local animal rescue shelters. The mother and daughter are also working with a couple of their dogs to become registered therapy dogs.
Though Maddison loves her full-time job with the school district, the 21-year-old’s passion remains showing and hopes that one day Awesome Rawsome will be profitable enough to support her as she continues her rising star path in the dog show world.
Reach Kyra Gottesman at [email protected].
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