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We Love
August 23, 2018 | We Love | Story by Kasturi Das

Personal Story: A Dog Called Ringo

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. Continue Reading >

July 23, 2018 | We Love | Story by Laura Tonyan

Personal Story: The Adventures Of Little Big Mouth

“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. Continue Reading >

December 4, 2017 | We Love | Tips from Heather Burdo

7 Reasons To Adopt

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. Continue Reading >

July 31, 2017 | We Love | Story by Sandy Kenrick

The Road To Quentin: A Personal Story

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. Continue Reading >

July 14, 2017 | We Love | Story by John Verling

Rescue Spotlight: Daisy

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. Continue Reading >

May 17, 2017 | We Love | Story by Tara Renner

The Good Dog; A Personal Story

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. Continue Reading >

April 19, 2017 | We Love

Gift Ideas For The Dog Lover In Your Life

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 Continue Reading >

March 1, 2017 | We Love | Story by Evan Mbogai

A Dog Without A Spleen

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. Continue Reading >

February 15, 2017 | We Love | Story by Kasturi Das

Love Heals: Bridging The Communication Gap

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. Continue Reading >

January 27, 2017 | We Love | Story by Sarah Lucas

My Dog Was Hit By A Car

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. Continue Reading >

January 16, 2017 | We Love | Story by Evan Mbogai

A Loving (And Naughty!) Dog – A Personal Story

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. Continue Reading >

December 26, 2016 | We Love | Story by Ashley McLeod

Multi-Dog Family-A Personal Story

"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. Continue Reading >

December 19, 2016 | We Love | Story by Jesse Ellyson

Bad Dog-A Personal Story

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. Continue Reading >

December 16, 2016 | We Love | Story by Pamela Hunt

We Meet New Friends

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. Continue Reading >

November 21, 2016 | We Love | Story by Zoraida Pastor

A Dog’s Purpose

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. Continue Reading >

November 14, 2016 | We Love | Story by Jacqueline Rotteveel

Two Chihuahua Rescues

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. Continue Reading >

November 7, 2016 | We Love | Story by Jesse Ellyson

I Want To Be A Dog

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. Continue Reading >

October 31, 2016 | We Love | Story by Daniel Falconer

Milo On Holiday

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. Continue Reading >

October 28, 2016 | We Love | Story by Kim McCallum

Jamie And Me: A Dog’s Tail

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. Continue Reading >

October 17, 2016 | We Love | Story by Daniel Falconer

Milo, A Wonderful Comfort

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… Continue Reading >

5 Reasons To Foster A Dog

Everyone knows adopting a dog from a shelter saves lives but many people are unaware that fostering a dog can be just as beneficial. When you foster, you provide a temporary home for a shelter dog for a certain amount of time; often until they are adopted by another family (or you, which is known as a “foster fail”). But, fostering is so much more than that. Here are just five of the many reasons to become a dog foster parent! Continue Reading >

October 10, 2016 | We Love | Story by Daniel Falconer

Milo Is Getting Snappy!

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… Continue Reading >

October 3, 2016 | We Love | Story by Daniel Falconer

Milo On The Move

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... Continue Reading >

September 30, 2016 | We Love | Story by Patrick Regal

Hungry Hearts, Helping Dogs

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.” Continue Reading >

September 19, 2016 | We Love | Story by Marshall Weston

The New Addition

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. Continue Reading >

August 31, 2016 | We Love | Story by Susan Gabrielle

Lost and Found

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. Continue Reading >

July 11, 2016 | We Love | Story by Ryan Lam

Snowball-A Personal Story

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. Continue Reading >

November 17, 2015 | We Love

‘Tis The Season

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). Continue Reading >

October 6, 2015 | We Love

The Sum of Two Weeks

"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..." Continue Reading >

September 25, 2015 | We Love

A Long Road

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. Continue Reading >

September 8, 2015 | We Love

Puppy Breath

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. Continue Reading >

September 1, 2015 | We Love

Soul Stretch

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. Continue Reading >

August 25, 2015 | We Love

Fence Patrol

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... Continue Reading >

July 28, 2015 | We Love

3.9 Million-Please Adopt.

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)! Continue Reading >

June 1, 2015 | We Love

The Meaning of It All

“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. Continue Reading >

April 27, 2015 | We Love

We Bark

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. Continue Reading >

April 23, 2015 | We Love

Playtime!

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... Continue Reading >

April 21, 2015 | We Love

Going To The Birds

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. Continue Reading >

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