Category: We Love

Search and rescue dogs played a crucial role after the 9/11 attacks, tirelessly finding survivors and offering comfort to rescue workers and grieving families. Their bravery and emotional support during this tragic time created a lasting legacy of the profound impact dogs have in times of crisis.

Colby has been in our family for almost a decade… it is important to let her know how loved and appreciated she is, just for being her!

I vaguely remember this incident from the time when I was a toddler. I felt a gentle tug at my skirt while I was loitering in the corridors of our old Assam-type* house. I looked down to find a tiny snout peeking out through an opening in a wooden box, biting at the flowy material. It was a German Spitz that my uncle had brought along on his trip home.

It’s often said dog is Man’s best friend. Through ups and down, through highs and lows, a dog will sense your feelings and be with you, faithfully and unconditionally. I’ve never known what it is to have a pet dog, neither the pros nor cons that come with it, if any. This is just a personal story on how I overcame my fear for dogs.

Before we adopted dogs into their modern, cushy lifestyle, they used their many natural skills in the pursuit of food. We also used dogs for work, such as herding, hunting, and search and rescue.

New dog owner here, and I am going to talk about poop. Or what happened to make me completely obsessed with my dog’s business.

“Little Big Mouth.” That’s what one of our neighbors nicknamed our undersized English Setter Mix, who’s real name is Payton. The nom de guerre is well deserved though. Payton barely passed the 26 lb mark and everyone thinks she’s a puppy by her high energy levels, LOUD BORKS, and small stature. In reality though she’s somewhere between 8-10 years old and has recently been diagnosed with colon cancer.

“The ASPCA believes that pets and people belong together; that financial circumstances alone are not reliable indicators of the capacity to love and care for a companion animal, and that strong bonds between people and pets make for stronger communities.” – ASPCA

“Ouch!”
Playtime can be rough when you have a new puppy, and their little teeth can hurt. Trust me, I know. Nipping has been the bane of my toe’s existence for the past month, but I am now happy to say that our family pup, Lake, has finally lightened his touch. Here’s how we did it:

My beautiful chocolate lab, Angie, was not my first lab or my first rescue dog when I adopted her more than five years ago. But, she was the first in many other ways.

If you’re a true animal lover, you may have no issue with letting your dog cozy up in bed with you. With conflicting information about whether it’s good for your dog to even sleep in the same bed, it’s hard to determine if it’s even a healthy habit. Here are some reasons why it’s okay to let your pup jump on in bed with you tonight.

My friends with rescue pups often talk about how their dogs choose them. 

An alarming number of adoptable pets are becoming euthanized in the United States. The unfortunate reason – Too many pets are brought into shelters and not enough people will consider adoption. There are several reasons why adopting is better than buying.

I was on my way home from a work trip when I received a text from my boyfriend that he was taking our 4-year-old pitbull terrier, Bentley, to the emergency vet because he had temporarily lost control of his back legs.

Have you ever looked another creature in the eye and felt an instant bond?

The boys grab their bikes and pedal down the road as they make their way to the newest discovery on their long list of adventures. The pack consists of close friends who foster a deep and enduring relationship with each other, and with their dog. Snoopy wasn’t always part of the crew, as she was considered a street dog and many of the boys’ mothers chased her away in the fear of rabies, fleas, and ticks.

Daisy came into our lives when she was about nine months old. We know very little about her, except that she was the youngest of the litter and unwanted by the owner. She is a beautiful little cross, between what and what we are not sure, but there is some Yorkie and a lot of Cairn in the mix. Though she was dirty, flea and worm-infested, we instantly fell in love with her and today Daisy is the light of our lives. What we don’t know is what Daisy has seen in her past.

In 2009, I was working for the state parks (still do). One of the perks of my job is that being centrally located, I am able to travel the state weekly and visit many beautiful state properties. One of the downsides, I soon learned, is that cruel people occasionally dump pets in those parks.

My name is Poppy-Lola and I’m a long haired chihuahua who’s life changed on June 6th, 2015.

Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are right around the corner and Barkswell has been lucky enough to have some awesome companies looking to give discounts for their work. Whether for upcoming celebrations, special occasions or just to show some extra care to those you love, here are some choice gift ideas for the dog lover in your life. Canine themed or not, these gifts are right up our alley

Last year I was on a serious search to find a dog so I did why a lot of people would do go to a pet store to find my new friend.

Many years ago when Lukas was still alive, I dealt with so many pet emergencies; I swear I wished my car had a siren. He was, after all, a delicate little shih-tzu.

Later that evening me and my kids were taking care of Rick. It was kind of funny explaining to my two kids the importance behind Ricky’s surgery. They were a little unable to understand how one can survive without an internal body organ. At one point they even thought that Ricky would be handicapped. At the end of the day as Ricky slept peacefully I could not help but reflect on the relationship we have built with Rick for the past four years. This interesting dog with a unique personality definitely is a darling and a blessing to me and my family.

I moved to my home city from Bangalore in October last year, to live with my parents. Out of the 28 years of my life, 10 were spent living away from home. So when my father was diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment, I knew I had to come back. My mother wouldn’t be able to juggle everything at home – chores and emotions – on her own.

If you’re anything like me, you have a lot of empathy. And you need empathy if you’re going to foster dogs. You have to care. But if you’re like me, you can often care deeply and too much. That’s when it becomes hard to foster.

When Bentley, my pitbull terrier, was only 1-year-old he got hit by a car and survived. It wasn’t really anyone’s fault. The problem was that Bentley was an escape artist. As a puppy, a week couldn’t go by without him breaking out of the backyard through a hole in the fence or running out the door when someone was coming or going. And once he was out, it took a long time to get him back.

Third cage on the right. That’s where I met my best buddy. He was in the far back of the cage, shaking in fear, & to be flat out honest he looked ugly as sin. Hair patches missing, eyes coated over & blood shot, underweight. Basically a rabid Coyote.

Apart from annoying, Ricky is very lovable. Well he’s annoying because he has been happily destroying all the locks in the house for the past four years. It’s even a shock why we haven’t been robbed yet. Apart from that, the young lad can be terribly obnoxious when put on leash. When we visited our small town I was impressed at the number of dogs owned by the natives in my hometown. They are just as many dogs living there as the people on the streets. The coexistence was so impressive; the dogs were just as friendly to each other as their owners were. There must be a secret universal code among the dogs, genetically running in their brains that coordinate how they respond to each other.

“Growing up, my home had always been a single dog home. There were usually multiple animals, including cats, guinea pigs, snakes, and most things in between, but it had always been one single dog. So when I moved into my new residence, a home with two dogs, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Now I live with a Havanese (or, in this house, a Muppet) and some sort of pug/chihuahua mix.

In my travels I have come across some hard people. Mean people with horrible histories. People who committed crimes as a matter of course. People who had so little good left in them that the rest of us could tell at a glance that they were people to stay away from. One such person was a fellow named Keith.

On our regular four-mile loop through the city yesterday, Archie and I encountered several of the regulars: Charley, the feisty puggle; the border collies who twirl and spin into each other as we pass by; the delicate toy poodle who squeaks ferociously at us from his window seat perch.

Hibbard was whelped somewhere in Tennessee, but I like to think he was born at Graceland and decided to roam the streets of Memphis only after learning Elvis was gone.

What is the duty of a dog? They are not born from us. They are removed from their mothers and siblings after a few weeks from birth and chosen to accompany us in this journey called life. As puppies they enter our homes, making sloppy messes, soiling the carpet, and chewing our favorite slippers. Yet, they warm our hearts with their cold, wet noses.

I rescued Timmy on Valentine’s Day 2014. I’d never had a small dog before, but I fell in love at first sight. My previous dog was a beautiful golden retriever who was trained as my service dog for many years. After he retired I felt pretty lost. So, Timmy was a bundle of blessing.

Way back in the 70s there was a TV show called Run, Joe, Run. It was a great show. It was similar, in a way, to The Incredible Hulk. Each week the hero would find himself in a new place surrounded by new people with a new problem to solve. And at the end of the show, like David Banner, Joe would leave the town alone, always alone, moving on to the next episode by himself.

A Doggy Holiday. This week I’ve been looking for a place for Milo to stay when I attend a wedding at the beginning of November. Unfortunately, he can’t come with us and I don’t want to put him into kennels at such a young age, so I’ve been scouring local dog sitters to find the perfect place for him to stay for a few days.

Everyone is gifted with someone special in their lives, whether that be a friend, a relative, or even a pet. Many people have argued that animals have a deeper bond with people than we fully understand and usually at the pinnacle of these arguments is man’s best friend, Canis Lupus Familiaris, or more commonly known as The Dog.

Milo and I have had some incredible moments this week, but it’s also been a scary one due to one particular incident…

Moving into week three of life with my new best friend and companion Milo, I was starting to get into the rhythm of things and really enjoy every moment I spent with him. He was a quick-learner, extremely smart and kept me laughing. What I wasn’t expecting this week was to fall sick, and especially not my pup’s reaction to that…

So, week two of having the pup in the house and I can gladly say that the entire family have fallen for him! He’s had more visitors than my mum had when she gave birth to my sister and brother! My Great Aunt from Texas is also in the UK visiting and she’s completely enamoured with him. He knows exactly how to wrap people around his little finger – he’s learning from his Dad fast…

Meet Milo. He’s a sweet-natured brindle French Bulldog I’ve decided to dedicate the next decade or so of my life to! I do love a challenge… As a freelance writer and somebody who knows that a lot of people on the internet can’t resist a good post about a cute pup, I thought I could share his story and new life with the rest of the world. So how has Milo’s first week been with me? Let me talk you through the whirlwind of a ride we’ve had so far…

San Francisco is missing out. I live in Roanoke, Virginia, a town most recently in the spotlight for NOT being the Roanoke featured in the latest season of American Horror Story. Roanoke is in southwest Virginia, near the corner of the state. According to Google Maps, my house is 1 hour and 28 minutes (which makes for a nice day trip) away from the American Shakespeare Center in Staunton, Virginia. I am a big Shakespeare nerd and try my best to go to every show, dragging along anyone I can convince to come with me. I love going there. In fact, to quote Shakespeare himself in As You Like It, “I like this place and willingly could waste my time in it.”

As I write this, there is a 2 year old, (but 2 months new-to-us) rescue Catahoula Leopard not more than three feet from me (Go ahead, look up a Catahoula Leopard and don’t feel bad, I’d never heard of one either. This dog breed that I had never heard of is the State Dog of Louisiana). My wife found him at an SPCA adoption event and fell in love with him immediately.

It was cold and dark and damp. It was lonely. And very scary. So very scary. She huddled behind a trash can, shivering in the cold. She didn’t like this back alley, not one bit. She wasn’t entirely certain how she’d come to be here. There’d been that cat in her yard.

One spring day, seven years ago, our four-person family became bigger by one new member – a chubby little Dalmatian. Since then, Smokie, as he was named, has been an integral part of our lives. Over these years, Smokie has helped me learn so much about myself, my parents and other occasional visitors.

Getting tired. Slowing down. I don’t care so much about that ball anymore.

Like humans, domestic dogs are social creatures and are not meant for outdoor living. Except for some very few breeds that can live successfully in cold weather, the majority of North American dogs are indoor dogs, due to cultural norms and climate.

Anyone that has an Instagram account, and loves animals, has heard of Steve Greig. This Colorado accountant has dedicated his life to taking care of senior dogs (plus a few other critters that deserves some attention too!).

Our sweet pup, Hazelnut, is a year old today. Time flies!

Snowball is a 13 year old Bichon Frise, Bay Area born and raised. He has lived through the roughest times of the Bay Area sports woes in the mid-2000s, but has relished the success of the San Francisco 49ers and Giants as well as the Golden State Warriors.

My husband and I (and our dogs) just spent the weekend with my parents (and their dogs), celebrating the 4th. The 4th, our Independence Day, also happens to be their wedding anniversary-this year celebrating 29 years.

Two weeks after moving into my new house I was at the pet shelter looking for a dog. I hadn’t had a dog in years, my parents would be staying with me for the next year or two, I thought now more than ever was the right time.

Did you know that stranger danger is real? Like, paralyzingly real?

With a new pup around, Wes and Barn are settling in like pros but there are rare times when they wish the old order held fast.

As a child, I used to play with graph paper-designing my future homes with wrap around porches. I also made forts with sheets and pillows.

The heater is on, layers upon layers of clothes are in full swing, and the pups are cuddling up.

Dear Reader, the last few weeks have been a veritable swampland of Non profit events-the season is among us and it has taken me away from these posts (which I deeply regret).

“Hi! One of us peed on the couch while daddy wasn’t looking when putting away the fence, and then ran upstairs to try and poop in the guest bathroom, and trailed poop down the stairs as daddy took me outside…”

Puppy training is tiring, has anyone ever told you that? It is. It’s about consistency AND encouragement, and a whole lot of patience which can seem in short supply when you’re so very very tired.

As the fostering saga continued this last week, we made the fateful decision to adopt half of the fostered duo.

We are now into week three of fostering and it has it fallen into a beautiful ebb and flow of playing, eating, going number one and number two, and sleeping…sleeping everywhere.

Last week we celebrated National Dog Day, almost by accident. My fiance and I have been tired, a bit worn down with life activities-mostly wedding planning, work, and all the small things that add up in between.

We are a pretty habitual household: morning and evening romps at the dogpark, 5:30 am and pm feedings, morning cuddles for Wes, evening cuddles for Barn…

Barnaby and I spend a lot of time together. In the kitchen, he waits for every half ounce of scrap he can get, just beneath and between my feet.

My parents have a home that has a lovely pool. That pool was a whopping 80 degrees this weekend, so we enjoyed it with abandon.

Hello everyone! Sorry for the delayed post-this weekend was amazingly busy. I celebrated another birthday and in the best way possible-with my best friends (both two-legged and four-legged)!

I am going to work my way backwards through my amazing dog-filled week.

I had a four day weekend from work, which meant a lot of time catching up on chores around the house and some extra special time with the pups.

I love weekends. I get to pretend that I will get to sleep late, or at the very least compensate with a nap.

I have two dogs that are very good boys. They are loving and like to play: They love to cuddle and wrestle with me in equal measure. But some days, like Sunday, they lose their friggin’ minds.

“Family” can be a can of worms. The relationships that work, the relationships that don’t, the ones you so badly want fixed, and the ones that are so past repair you can do nothing but move on.

I have a much more complicated relationship with Barnaby, a rescue from Family Dog, than I do with Wes. In some ways, he is a mirror to parts of my soul.

I have this deep rooted affection for Wes, my little man. I remember the day I found him, or better yet-the day he found me.

Barking kills me. My entry way is a tunnel that reverberates sound like nothing I have experienced. My former roommate had a sweetheart of a dog but his bark was like a boom cannon.

There are tons and tons and more tons of dogs in San Francisco. The good, the bad, and the ugly of dogs is seen in each dog park microsystem-some parks attract large dogs, noisy dogs, small dogs…

I am a creature of habit, and apparently so are my pups. They like early mornings, and early nights.

I have birds on the brain today. You cooing and (literally) crappy things! Both Barnaby and Wesley have a love-hate relationship with the birds in our neighborhood.

Offering some brevity, and knowing that this is the beginning of a long journey of dog mommyhood, I’ll give you a little insight into each of my loves now…