It’s that time of year when we’re mentally and emotionally preparing ourselves for what most of us consider dog’s-least-favorite-days. All any of us want is for our dogs to feel safe, yet they don’t understand the loud booms and crackles as we attempt to help them before fireworks and comfort them during what many of… View more
Mabel growled at me Monday night. I hope it was just a blip, a bump in the road, as it was a wonky day that started with her being terrified of the trash truck on our way to the car for her to go to daycare. The grumble ended as quickly as it started, and I’ve… View more
I woke up this morning on the tiniest sliver of the edge of my bed. I could hear Mabel mumble and sleepily stretch as she lay belly up, horizontally next to me, waiting for her pre-breakfast belly rubs. In the short time Mabel’s been with me, she’s shown me what a sensitive sweetheart she is,… View more
As Mabel and I continue bonding and learning to communicate, I’ve thought a lot about the beginning stages of the dog-human relationship, whether forever or fostering. It’s a lot for everyone, us, our dogs, the people we love. Give our dogs bones to relieve stress. Oh, but some pups swallow and choke on those bones…. View more
The day after I said goodbye to my spunky soulmate Finn, I needed to connect with him, so I went to the park, where he passed peacefully. In the spot where we ran into our beautiful neighbors John and Javier was a three by four foot perfectly shaped leaf-filled heart, in January, in Chicago. From that day on,… View more
I believe you get back what you put out into the world. I can’t tell you how many dogs I’ve met named Barkley who live up to their name, so I’ve been referring to my almost official rescue dog as my easy breezy Mabel girl. Mabel has settled in so remarkably well. The most challenging… View more
Saturday morning arrived, and I was so excited. I met was Stella-now-Mabel Tuesday night, and she seemed sweet and playful as she happily gobbled up the treats I took for her and her foster brother before leaning against me. After her foster mom left, Mabel was nervous about the new sounds in a new environment with… View more
The FDA inspected us last week (routine for registered products). I went into it thinking, “We’ve got this.” Following super strict food safety and production processes is a we-love-dogs-more-than-anything-the-world policy, not a business matter. However, there was some confusion about our filed paperwork which led the fear-authority part of me to become overly nervous answering… View more
