ALEXANDRIA, Va., Nov. 18 -- United States Patent no. 12,471,568, issued on Nov. 18, was assigned to Benebone LLC (Westport, Conn.).
"Treat dispensing toy for pets" was invented by Peter Toolan (Westport, Conn.) and Evan L. Ryan (Evanston, Ill.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A toy for a domestic pet can be used as a fetch toy or as an interactive toy that releases edible treats for the pet. The toy includes a mostly hollow body that defines at least one treat-dispensing opening. A scoop is disposed inwardly of the treat-dispensing opening to provide an amount of control over the dispensing of the treats. The scoop both helps dispense treats and limits the number of treats that are dispensed. T...