Spotlight on Barkley

Barkley fulfills a promise that I made earlier in the year - that we would save one large breed mix each month at TLC... And Barkley is pretty BIG at 100 pounds... A Mastiff/American Bulldog mix, Barkley came to us in pretty bad shape but was rescued from a high kill shelter by his 'doggie fairy godmother', Kathryn... 

And a special note from Kathryn here about Barkley:

I come into the shop every morning to feed  Barkley and to take him out for his morning constitution and his leash training. This particular morning I fed him before I took him out. For some reason I happened to stay by his crate to watch him eat. After a few minutes, Barkley paused, looked up at me and he wagged his tail a few seconds, and then proceeded to finish his breakfast. It was if he were saying, "Thank you. I really enjoy this breakfast." I think if  Barkley could have smiled, he would have, but I saw the smile in his heart and in his eyes.

After breakfast I took him out for his walk. His favorite spot is the fountains at the far east end of the mall. He likes to walk through the water and drink from the fountain. He likes to look around and see what's going on and a group of children caught his eye. He watched them for awhile, and with a gentle, "Let's go, Barkley" from me, we started up again.

Now we are at the other end of the mall by the grassy area and the koi pond. Barkley likes to rest on the grass in the shade of a tree. He loves to drink from the fountain, and he never fails to that go  "commando" and scoot on his belly. I guess it feels pretty good and scratches his tummy. He also rolls around on his back like he is doing snow angels. When he was on his back, I decided to give his chest and tummy a good scratching. I am not kidding when I tell you that Barkley got really still, shut his eyes and stretched out his hind legs. He stayed that way until I stopped scratching. I wonder what went on in his little mind.

Today as we were resting, I had Barkley put his paws up on the bench where I was sitting. He put his paws up, and immediately came over and put his paws on my lap and gave me a great big goobery kiss. I guess that made him so happy and he jumped down and bowed at me to play. I took his cue and started to tussle with him. He was soooo happy and started to prance and bow. What a loveable happy goober he is.

What a difference from the dog we rescued that was in so much pain from the swelling of his paws  and the mange that was never taken care of.  He is getting more beautiful every day. He tells me that he is happy.

Another beautiful life and soul is saved. He will make someone a wonderful gentle, loyal companion.

Barkley appeared on Fox11 yesterday with Lori and as you can see, he is one gentle giant!