If there was a photo that described our little family, this is it.
Molly and Tank playing like the brother and sister they are while Cooper runs around barking. It's a bit of a mess, but it's our mess. And we love every minute of it.
I'm Kayla. We've probably met at events - you probably even met Eric at a show or two. And that's our little family that we love dearly. We've been working hard for about 6 months now getting that little blue truck behind us ready to roll out to Kansas City. Countless hours of work inside and out - Sleepless nights - Days stuck in our "day" job just to come home and work until midnight on one little piece of the puzzle. But it's finally here.
Now that it's here, there's a million things we want to do, but we promise to stay true to those same people you've gotten to know over the last two years. So instead of doing a partner expose, I've decided to tell you a bit about us and what we do.
I started Barkville Bakery almost 2 years ago - you can read our origin story here in our Meet the Baker Series. It's definitely not as compelling as Captain America, but at least it's not 2 hours long.
Everyone has their thing in life. The thing they can talk about for hours - describe in great detail the ins and outs. Eric's first love is anything with an engine. Mine on the other hand is cooking. He says I describe food like most people talk about their kids or - in his case - their cars. It's probably from secretly wanting to be on the Food Network or watching too much of the Great British Baking Show. But it's my passion. I love baking fresh treats - for humans or pups. Whether it's the look on someone's face when they eat a delicious chocolate chip cookie fresh from the oven, or the look on my friend Enzo's face when I give him a treat, it's all about that perfect moment when you've brought joy. It's about showing love for people and animals alike.
Dogs are probably my close (very close) second passion. I'm pretty quirky and nerdy and a little socially awkward - I'm a chemical engineer after all - but I've always gotten along with dogs. I've always had dogs in my life. And you can read all about those experiences here. One especially goofy one that I'll always tell you about is Cooper.
He's my first baby. Without him, I don't think I'd be working with dogs as much as I do today. I learned so much from teaching him. He's so smart, and he loves his mama. Every night he sleeps under - yes, you read that correctly, under - my bed. We call it his man cave and he disappears into it whenever he doesn't want to be bothered. He and I are both kind of introverts. We keep to ourselves and do our own thing. But we also love to be around people who share the same interests - grant it, his is pretty simple - you just have to throw something.
That love for Cooper grew to love for Tank and love for Molly. And eventually truly turned to loving all dogs - not that I didn't love them before. But suddenly, in Kansas City, I was plugged into this group of awesome animal lovers. They foster, rescue, care for, and just generally love on animals. Eric and I have taken a few shots at fostering. I immediately fall in love with them and never want them to leave - of course. Meanwhile, he's over that in about 2 days when we are trying to sleep between puppy cries. We foster mostly younger dogs since that's what works best for our pack. And we cannot wait to get back to it after things settle from launching the Treat Waggin'.
This group of people that I've found have shaped the businesswoman I am. They've taught me and mentored me and I could not be more grateful. I can't name them all here cause undoubtedly I will miss one and feel terrible about it. But if you've been reading our partner blogs - and in the ones to come - you'll meet them.
The pet community in Kansas City has embraced this company and me and for that I am forever thankful. That's why I give so much and share as much as I can with these petprenuers, rescues, shelters and groups that give so much to the community.
When you buy from Barkville Bakery, you are buying from those two goofballs in that photo. That photo was taken just about 2 weeks before the grand opening of the Treat Waggin'. We were just excited to see all of the hard work come together. The work is never done - after all, we hand roll and cut every treat that comes out of Barkville Bakery. I feed a little to the pups - for quality control, of course - and then package them up to come to you. But we are excited to see where the next phase of Barkville Bakery takes us!
Photo Credits: The Journalistic Jardine, @enzos_adventures