When talking about DoggyBling.com I find it fitting to write about our most valuable asset, Mako. My relationship with Mako has changed my life and inspired this website. We receive e-mails every day asking questions about Mako. Is Mako a boy or a girl? How old is Mako? When is Mako’s birthday? What breed is Mako? All of these questions and more will be answered in this article
Many people refer to the DoggyBling.com “vision”. This means a lot to the founders of DoggyBling.com because that is the way we view our role in the dog community. The inspiration for this website grew out of a love for Mako and a desire to help other dogs in need of rescue, as you will soon find out was the case for Mako. The desire to make money has always been secondary to the “vision” of DoggyBling.com. I personally thank all of those who have recognized and appreciate the “vision” behind DoggyBling.com. The abbreviated “vision” of DoggyBling.com is to provide dog lovers a sanctuary from the negative connotations associated with the web and to form alliances with others to rescue dogs and improve their quality of life.
Mako came into our life almost two years ago. Although my wife, Stephanie and I have always been avid dog lovers, we did not have a dog of our own. We had a business at the time that required extensive travel and it would not have been responsible to own a dog. We believe that dog ownership is a great responsibility and should not be taken lightly. A few years ago we decided to open a retail business and dramatically reduced our travel. Since I mostly worked the business, Stephanie had a lot of free time on her hands.
She was soon offered a job at a Dog Boutique and eagerly accepted. What a cool job! This is when “Dog Fever” really set in. Since we no longer traveled, we began the search for a dog. What kind of dog to get, that was the question. Stephanie went on a search for a breed of dog that would best fit our family. We knew we wanted a dog that was loveable and cute, preferably small to medium. We love the movie “Zeus and Roxanne” and felt that a “Zeus” would fit into our family perfectly. But, is “Zeus” a “breed” or a “mutt”? In truth, we preferred a “mutt” because it better fits our personal beliefs. We have twin Vietnamese girls, Huong and Duyen that have also been a joy in our lives. (They are not “mutts”, but we rescued them and they rescued us). Still, we weren’t exclusively seeking a rescue; we just wanted a “Zeus”.
Stephanie was at the Dog Boutique for 6 or 7 months when she was asked to “foster” a puppy for a couple of days. Of course, she was more than glad to help. The puppy was born into a family of 12 brothers and sisters, 6 black and 6 brown. Foster homes had to be found for all 12 puppies due to the fact that the mother could not produce milk and therefore couldn’t care for them. We took the puppy in for what we thought would be a couple of days. We love all puppies and this one was absolutely adorable. The problem was that we had no idea what this puppy would look like and we had our hearts set on a “Zeus”. Although we never saw her mother, we were told that she was a Standard Schnauzer and the father, a Pekinese. We took this in consideration, but the puppy looked like a black lab.
The first time I described this precious puppy to my mom, she said that we would end up keeping the puppy that I kept raving over. I called her several times over the course of two days to tell her cute things that the puppy was doing. On the third day we contacted the lady who left the puppy with Stephanie and told her that we had made a decision to keep her as part of our family. Then I called my mom and once again said, “You were right”. It was the best decision we have ever made. I could not stand the thought of this sweet puppy needing a home and it would have forever haunted me if I had held out for the dog I was determined to find.
After a week or so we began looking for a name. We observed characteristics that may assist in finding a great name for our newest family member. We could have easily called her adorable, because everything she did was adorable. We observed one characteristic that was annoying and cute at the same time. It was the only thing about her that wasn’t perfect. She was a little “bitey”. Stephanie had the idea to call the puppy Mako, although we both hoped the “bitey” stage would be a short one. Well, Mako quickly got over the “bitey” stage and got even cuter! We honestly didn’t think it was possible. But the funny thing was that as Mako began to grow up, she didn’t look like a lab at all. She looked like a “Zeus”… only black. We couldn’t believe our fortune! The puppy we fell in love with, although she was very different than our ideal dog, was in fact, our ideal dog. Mako has a beautifully scruffy face, long legs and the cutest feet you have ever seen. We call them little “Grinch Feet” because of their similarity to the feet of the Grinch character.
Mako quickly became an integral part of our family and made us much more conscious of our love of animals, particularly dogs. So much so, that Stephanie and I have dedicated our lives to our love of dogs. Stephanie opened StarBarks Gourmutt Dog Treats and I started DoggyBling.com. Both businesses were born out of a love of dogs and a desire to enhance their quality of life.
Mako has made me the guy I used to make fun of…
In my wallet… I have one photo of Stephanie, two photos of the twins and three photos of Mako.
Mako… My Life, My Inspiration, My Dog.
I just read the article on Benefil Dog food as recommened by a lady that I hope to adopt a puppy from. I am so sorry that I did not know about it sooner as I lost my best friend on December 30, 2008. We took Odat to the vet and never once was it mentioned that maybe his dog food was causing his problem. He became very weak and coughed alot and lost his need to drink. He died in my arms and now I wonder if the dog food had anything to do with his death. Linda Barkley, Charlotte, NC
Posted by: Linda Barkley | January 20, 2009 at 06:57 AM