New Flea Treatment Policy

Don't Forget Your Flea Treatment!

All dogs coming to BARK ATL must be treated for fleas, so please don't forget that your dog needs flea preventative year round. BARK ATL will begin administering Capstar, a highly safe and effective flea treatment if a dog checks into the facility with fleas. This will be effective immediately, to protect other dogs from flea exposure. A manager will call you before the Capstar is administered; however, please note that this is our new policy to prevent fleas from entering into the facility and you will be charged $15.00 for the treatment. 

BARK ATL at Splish Splash Doggy Bash at Piedmont Park Pool

The dog days of Summer had to come to an end, and leave it to BARK ATL to find the perfect way to celebrate! BARK ATL was a proud sponsor of the Piedmont Park Splish Splash Doggy Bash held at Piedmont Park Pool Saturday, Sept. 18th. The event was really unique - for the final days of Summer the city turns the pool over to the dogs, literally. There was a lot of doggy paddeling going on! It was a sight to see, and VERY entertaining for us humans and a total BLAST for all the dogs that came & conquered a HUGE pool of FUN. Check out the video here: BARK ATL @ Splish Splash Doggy Bash 

BARK ATL represents at Splish Splash Doggy Bash - We have a pool, too!

Some dogs jump right in, others need a little paw holding...

Pepe & Twin stopped by the booth to say hello! We love you two!

This sweet girl had a bad leg, but she was running and playing with the best of them! Good luck with your surgery, girl.

This guy found the cooler - and the shade - and the doggy ice cream! SCORE!

A dog's eye view of the fun!

Did someone say BACON?

To see more pictures from the event:
Facebook Photo Album - Splish Splash Doggy Bash

Puppy love - Little Pup Lane edition!

Did you check out our last blog post about dogs who've grown up at Bark ATL? Well, we've got a couple more for you! Like I said last week, we LOVE getting new puppies in at Bark. News of a new puppy travels fast around here!

Little Molly was so tiny when she came to us in the spring of 2009. She was a little shy on her first day, and spent most of her time playing hide-and-seek with the other dogs (mostly the "hide" part). How things have changed! Molly is still tiny, but she sure doesn't know it. It only took her a few weeks before she was running circles around the other littles! She's a crazy girl and loves playing ball with BFFs like Chili Dawg, cuddling up with Puppi, and hanging out on the lap of the closest human. But she doesn't sit still for long! She may look like a delicate little poodle, but Molly is a total tomboy at heart!

Oh, Dillon... what can I even say about this wrinkly little dachshund? He's still just as adorable as he was when he was a baby -- he just has a few less wrinkles. Dillon is one of the sweetest doxies we have at Bark! As a third-generation dachshund lover, I was obsessed with this little weiner dog from the first time I met him. He's so snuggly, soft, and sweet, and even the guys on our staff melt a little bit when he comes in the door. (it's true!)

And then there's Boudreaux. Yes, another dachshund! Boudreaux is actually my sister's dog. (remember that part about me being a 3rd-generation dachshund lover? it's a family tradition!) While Dillon was a sweet, cuddly baby dachshund, Boudreaux was a ragin' Cajun dachshund. He was WILD here at Bark ATL! He never really had that shy, timid puppy stage like little Molly the toy poodle. He was pretty much running the show in Little Pup Lane from the moment he walked in the door! Boudreaux is obsessed with playing fetch, so of course he loved hanging out with champion fetcher Bailey the Jack Russell. He moved to China when my sister had to relocate there last year, but he'll be back in 2011... and I'm sure he'll be ready to play!

They grow up so fast!

We love our jobs here at Bark ATL. I mean, we get to play with dogs all day -- what could be better? Well, one of the best parts of being a dog attendant here is getting to watch our Bark ATL puppies grow up. Of course, we love each and every one of the dogs in our pack, but witnessing a dog's transformation from wrinkly puppy to clumsy teenager to mature (in some cases!) adult is like being part of its family. We've had so many great dogs begin their journey at Bark ATL as adorable pups, and we just love getting to watch them as they grow and change. Believe me, there are few things more exciting for the staff here than hearing about a brand-new cute puppy. And almost equally fun is looking back on their puppy pictures a year or two later, when they're a little less clumsy and a LOT bigger!


Yoyo
I personally remember the day that Yoyo joined the Bark ATL pack in March of 2009, simply because I was completely overwhelmed by her cuteness. Yoyo was a tiny, shy rescue puppy with goofy big paws and the sharpest little puppy teeth I think I've ever seen (or felt). Nowadays, she pretty much runs the show in Big Dog Way! But she started off hanging out with Bailey (the jack russell) and Rosie the beagle, because she only weighed about 15 lbs when she started at Bark. She grew and grew, and by the time she was ready to meet the big dog pack, she had more crazy puppy energy than the little dogs knew what to do with! She fit in perfectly with the bigs, where she met future BFFs like Lady, Sheba, and Olive. We love watching Yoyo play because she goes totally nuts when she gets excited, and gets a HUGE grin on her face. She's not a puppy anymore, but we all think she's still adorable!

Thriller
The whole staff was immediately obsessed with Thriller when he first came here last October. The spunky little dalmatian puppy had soft fur, cool spots, and an awesome name! It was love. We all fawned over him, and so did the little dogs -- the same ones who had played with Yoyo when she was a baby. Like Yoyo, Thriller has an inordinate amount of fun energy, which certainly kept things exciting in Little Pup Lane while he was there. But he's a lover, too! I'm sure you've all seen pictures of Thriller cuddling up with his latest love interest. It must be his favorite way to unwind after hours and hours of playing chase with Pete and wrestling with Yoyo!

BooBoo
Of course, I couldn't talk about adorable Bark ATL puppies without mentioning BooBoo. Everyone at Bark has a special attachment to this sweet pit mix, because she was rescued by our manager, Bre. Bre searched high and low to find the perfect home for little BooBoo. One of our wonderful customers, Sevi, had been bringing her pit mix puppy in to Bark for several months at the time and decided to see what Mocha would think about having a sister. Well, Mocha and BooBoo have been completely inseparable ever since! The two girls are such a fun pair to have in the pack, because they are constantly getting everyone in the group to play, play, play! It's been great watching BooBoo grow up. She was such a cute little pup when Bre brought her to Bark, and now she's a wild, fun girl in Big Dog Way!

Stay tuned for more puppy love stories!

-Gray

PUPPY LOVE

We all know our dogs love us unconditionally. Dogs show love in so many ways. Some dogs love everyone and everything. Other dogs really love that one special ball or stuffed toy. We took some time to gather some great pictures of dogs at BARK ATL showing their love, for each other, for our staff, for a little place in the sun, a splash in the pool, for anything and everything that makes them happy during any part of their stay at BARK ATL. I guess that's what we adore so much about spending time with dogs - observing and learning from them, about how the simplest things in life should be treasured every day. Take a look at some of the pictures below. Read about the story behind the photo. We hope you'll be inspired to smile, spread some love of your own, and give your dog an extra belly rub just because it makes you happy and fills you with love. What does your dog love? We'd love to hear your stories! Please feel free to comment and share with us what gives your dog the most joy, and how watching that joy spills over to enrich your life.

"Crazy Daisy", the boxer on the right, has been coming to BARK ATL since we first opened. She's a regular wiggly welcome wagon to all the new dogs in our pack. In this picture, she welcomes Sally the Springer, who is now a regular member of our day care pack (thanks in part to the love and licks of a new BFF).

In this photo Bogie, BARK ATL's resident and only Sharpei, is seen slinging what was his favorite day care toy, the giant green octopus (until it went to octopus heaven, due to living a rich life filled with daily swings from doggy jaws). Bogie is sweet and wrinkly and wiggly and we love him. Watching him sling this octopus around the room was a highlight of the day! Here's D'or, one of BARK's original "designer dogs". She is the cutest little thing and her favorite spot, the place that she calls home away from home, is at the top of this little play cube. She always stands up in it and looks over the little dog room, and we put a little bed up there and she sleeps in her little lookout tower at night. She loves, loves, loves the play cube and we love to see her in it, too!Rosie loves the tennis ball! She loves playing catch, and she is very, very good at it! We love throwing the ball to her until her heart's content. She will place it right in front of you and nudge it a bit with her nose just to make certain you see it, then it's a sprint to the other side of the room where she waits eagerly, intensely, and patiently for a good throw! She even sleeps with her tennis ball after a long day of play. Did we mention that Rosie loves the tennis ball? Scroll down to see other dogs showing their puppy love at BARK ATL!

Thriller LOVES Bella.

Bernadette loves little Boo Boo.







Penny loves to get belly rubs while nestled in a good lap!




It's quite an understatement to say Fergus loves this bench. Fergus really, really, REALLY loves lounging on this bench outside. I think he even scrawled his name on it somewhere!







Stella, Kadyn and Thriller love to nap in this nice spot in the sun.





Madison & Presley love cupcakes (and birthday parties at BARK ATL!). Of course, this is their own birthday party, what could be better than that? (Oh yeah, and these siblings also LOVE each other)!







Cody loves the blue football! Hey, who wants to play tug?









Eddie loves the BARK ATL VIP treatment that comes with senior status.








JD (and so many of his friends) LOVE pool time at BARK ATL!










Bugs loves to splash around in the pool, and he loves the hose, too!







And we'll close with one more picture of the puppy love match, Thriller & Bella. BARK ATL is not a bad place to meet your honey-bunny!


WOOF, WOOF, LICK, LICK, LOVE, LOVE.
BARK ATL

How Sandy Got Her Groove Back

Sandy O'Donnell has one of the sweetest faces you'll ever see, and when she first started visiting Bark ATL two years ago, the whole staff immediately fell in love. One look at those big, sweet brown eyes, and we were all smitten! Of course, Sandy loved the attention, and was almost always at a staff person's side relishing in the extra ear scratches. But she was just a little shy around the other dogs at first. She just preferred human company, and with all the attention we gave her, who could blame her? We decided that she would be perfect in the little dog room, where she could chase a tennis ball whenever she wanted and always be near a human's lap.

Over time, she started coming out of her shell -- and then, Sandy got her groove back! The former shy girl has totally transformed into a social butterfly, spending her days at Bark playing chase, wrestling, and just having a great time. Bella, our sweet little beagle puppy, became infatuated with Sandy from the first time they met, and

it took no time at all for Sandy to be dashing around Little Pup Lane, chasing Bella in and out of the play cube. Bella seems to have brought out Sandy's inner puppy! Another one of Sandy's BFFs is Lucy, an adorable little spaniel mix puppy who loves to chase the red rubber bouncy ball with Sandy.

We loved watching Sandy come out of her shell and become a puppy again! Of course, she's still just as sweet as ever, and always willing to curl up next to you for lots of loving. But only after a good wrestling match with one of her best friends!

We caught Sandy's wildness on video recently -- check her out below!

Double the Fun: Last Week's Sibling Love at Bark ATL!

What's the only thing better than dropping off one excited, wiggling pup at Bark ATL's back door in the morning?

Dropping off two of 'em, of course!

As we all know, we dog lovers have a hard time stopping at just one canine companion. This week, we saw some of our favorite sibling pairs show up with two-tails-a-waggin'. From the teeny-tiny to the large and in charge, brothers and sisters brought the love--and the fun!

Lucy & Gingersnap

"What, you can't see the resemblance?"

These two girls might play in separate rooms, but they are some of the sweetest sisters we've ever seen! Lucy, a golden doodle, is a good bit taller than her lil pug sister, Gingersnap. But Ginger's got enough sass to make up for the height difference!

Morgan & Riley

Another adorable sister set! This week, we welcomed Morgan and Riley to our pack (and to our ever-growing Vizsla Club)! They are two very sweet girls who didn't take long at all to warm up to the other dogs. Within an hour of first setting foot in our backyard, Morgan and Riley were dashing around Big Dog Way and making new friends! We love their sweet little howl that they do when they get excited. These girls look almost identical, but both have wonderfully unique personalities!

Madison & Presley

We could never write about sibling love without mentioning these two. Madison and Presley are just wild about each other, and about Bark ATL! The feeling is mutual, M & P! Big sis Madison always keeps a watchful eye on playful little brother Presley just to make sure he doesn't get in to trouble (which, of course, he never does). Madison & Presley love relaxing in the sun together and rooting each other on in their wrasslin' matches with the other dogs. We just love these sweet labs so much, and they adore each other!

Boo Boo & Mocha

These wild girls keep us so entertained (and keep their parents busy, we're sure)! Mocha was just a little girl when she first started coming to Bark ATL, and soon enough, her mom and dad had to get another adorable puppy. So Boo Boo joined the family--theirs, and ours! They are a riot together and love to run circles around the boys. You can be certain that if you bring your big dog to Bark ATL on the same day that these girls are here, your pup will be exhausted at the end of the day!

Hercules & Toby

Any Yorkie lover will tell you that even though these dogs are teeny-tiny, they think they're the size of a Great Dane! These two are no exception. Our friend Hercules brought his handsome brother Toby to Bark for the first time this past week. They are quite a pair together! Hercules (what a great name for a Yorkie!) showed him the ropes, and now they're ready to join our Yorkie crew's goal of taking over the world!

Charlie & Prue

Dainty Miss Prudence and regal Sir Charlie are our resident royal family! We think they look just like a duke and a duchess (see Charlie's duke portrait here). Whether they're lounging in a sunny spot or wrestling with YoYo and Olive, they are simply inseparable. We wouldn't have it any other way, C & P!

Piglet & Sadie Roo

These sisters may not look exactly alike, but they are equally sweet and loving. We adore both of them! We had the pleasure of watching Miss Piglet grow up (check out her puppy pic here) and she's still cute as a button. She loves to show off for her sister! Sadie Roo & Piglet both love every single human (& dog) at Bark ATL and always greet us with wagging tails and lots of lickies!

Mr. Solomon and Luicy

Oh yes, that's Mr. Solomon to you! We love this sweet Shih Tzu boy for his fun-loving attitude and his sharp tuxedo, and now we get to love his sister, too! Mr. Solomon's mom rescued little Miss Luicy several months ago, and she wasted no time getting to know and love all of her Bark ATL people! Like the Yorkies, these Shih Tzus imagine themselves to be about 60 lbs bigger than they actually are. But we love them just the way they are--perfect lap size!

Thank you all so much for sharing your wonderful doggie families with all of us at Bark ATL! See you next week!

-Gray