Barley's Adoption Story

Barley

Pet's name: Barley
Adopted by: Ali and Sean
From: Big Sky Animal Ranch, Kemptville, Ontario, Canada

You can follow Barley's adventures with Ali and Sean at Barley & Ali. Here is his story:

Sean and I (Ali) live in Ottawa, Canada, with our adopted dog, Barley. We write the blog to share our stories, tips, and tricks in dog-ownership and to receive feedback and create a discussion with other dog owners. We found that owning a dog has led to pretty much every conversation relating back to our furry friend Barley, so we thought a blog might help get some of that off our chest so friends wouldn't be hearing about him all the time! We also try to show the realities of owning and training an adopted adult dog, and how rewarding and beneficial it is. Now, enough about us...

In July of 2011, we adopted a Lab/shepherd/mutt mix (who at the time was named "Casper") from Big Sky Animal Ranch in Kemptville, Ontario. He was found tired and hungry on the side of the road by Andy Parent (owner of Big Sky), and wasn't wearing any tags or identification. For two weeks, "Casper" was housed at the Ranch and enjoyed roaming the land and playing with the other animals. Big Sky Ranch rescues horses, potbelly pigs, llamas, goats, and more, so there was lots of sniffing and running around to do!

We made a call to the ranch to inquire about another dog, a border collie mix named Sally, but she had already been adopted... Andy very quickly, though, convinced us to come out to the Ranch and meet "Casper." Hearing all the great things Andy had to say, the next day we drove 30 minutes into the country, with the sun shining and the fresh air on our faces, to meet the dog who was "too awesome not to adopt," and it was all true. Instantly we knew that he was coming home with us. Since adopting him, we have changed his name to Barley, taught him a thing or two about manners, and we couldn't be more happy.