Starting 2025 On The Right Foot…Or Paw

Here on The Bark Side, we’re starting 2025 the right way — by making a meaningful impact on the lives of dogs. 

Today, 2 January 2025, we are proud to make donations of cash and dog products to Pawprints Dog Rescue on behalf of our small business and its customers.

 

Our Chosen Dog Charity

We first met Pawprints Dog Rescue back in 2019 when we both had stalls at Pointerfest (an awesome event for Pointers and fans of Pointers).  Pawprints is a Rugby-based rescue which rehomes strays from council shelters, after their hold period.  The rescue has its own kennels and is supported by foster carers who provide a home environment, training, and/or care for dogs recovering from illness or injury.

We’re lucky to be able to meet so many customers in person, both at events and at our regular Saturday market stall at Stratford-upon-Avon.  As you’ll know, our HOWL app is designed to combat dog theft, so we chose to raise funds for the rescue by scanning dogs’ chips in return for a donation to the rescue.  We were able to reassure dog owners that the chip was still working, for example, so that if their dog were to go missing, they could be reunited if the chip was scanned.

We’ve been collecting for Pawprints for a while, but we didn’t actually choose a deadline for making the donation.  Note to self: make sure we have a deadline next time! 

 

Humans Don’t Deserve Dogs

On 27 December 2024, Pawprints posted on Facebook about a malnourished French bulldog cross, who’d been abandoned in the dark, foggy countryside on Boxing Day.  The location suggested she wasn’t intended to be found.  Even worse, she was noticed to be in labour and appeared to be struggling.  The out-of-hours vet found that her first puppy had died, blocking the birth canal.  After that puppy was freed, five live pups were born and are being cared for, along with mum.  It is believed that this is not this dog’s first litter, and she was likely dumped by a puppy farmer when she got into difficulty.  She would have died in agony had she not been found and given urgent medical care.

The abandoned mum and her pups have been given Christmas-themed names.  Mum has been named Pudding, and her five surviving pups have been named Custard, Trifle, Sherry, Baileys, and Pavlova.  The puppy that was born asleep was named Treacle.

That was all the motivation we needed to get our act together and sort out our donations.

 

The Bark Side’s Donation

As you’ll know, here on The Bark Side we mainly stock mainly dog toys and dog treats, but we’ve also stocked other items from time to time, such as collars, leads, and bowls.  We donated items from every category, and from brands such as KONG, Beco, Lupine, and Rogz.  In total, the retail value of the donated goods was £587.17. Pawprints might put some of the items to use in the rescue (rescue dogs need toys too!), but they might also choose to raise funds by selling some in their shop.

Totting up the cash in the collection box, our wonderful customers donated £38.87, which has also been donated to Pawprints today.

Dog welfare is hugely important to us on The Bark Side.  We’re proud to have been able to support Pawprints, and we’re glad that dogs such as Pudding and her puppies have found humans who will treat them properly.  Donations like these play a crucial role in supporting their incredible work.

 

How You Can Help

There are many ways you can support Pawprints, from financial donations, to playing the Rugby Lotto, or visiting their shop in Rugby shopping centre.  If you’re able to welcome a dog into your home, either to foster or adopt, check out their website for available dogs and to apply.

Even just a follow on social media can be a huge help, driving engagement and showing their posts to a wider audience.  Visit the Pawprints website to learn more and to link to their social media.

 

Charity For 2025

The Bark Side is Midlands-based, so we’d prefer to support a dog charity in the region.  If you’re a charity, or you’d like to nominate a dog charity, please drop us a message and tell us.  We’ll announce our next charity in due course.

In the meantime, thank you for supporting The Bark Side, for purchasing our dog toys, and for donating to our charity collection.  We couldn’t do any of this without our amazing customers.

We look forward to serving you online and at Stratford upon Avon market each Saturday.