Today, National Love Your Pet Day, is one of the most important days of the year for pet parents. Recognized annually on February 20th, National Love Your Pet Day encourages pet parents to go above and beyond for their pets and pamper them around the clock in celebration of their special bond. How fitting it falls in the month of pet love! 

At Kradle, National Love Your Pet Day is near-and-dear to our hearts both as pet parents and as a brand dedicated to caring for dogs. We launched Kradle because we love dogs and value the bond we share with them — that we know, from firsthand experience and months’ worth of research, stress can sometimes get in the way of. Our love for dogs ignited our mission to help pet parents rekindle the natural harmony with their pets and continues to drive it, so we definitely revel in a day all about showing pets much-deserved love and appreciation. 

How the Kradle team is celebrating National Love Your Pet Day:

Three of our team members are sharing their own love stories with their dogs and giving our Calming Dog Blog readers a glimpse into the furry faces behind our brand. We wouldn’t be able do it without our dogs' help and support!   

Brent & Stella

Brent, Kradle’s Chief Marketing Officer, owns a four-and-a-half-year-old Dogue De Bordeaux named Stella. Although her name is Stella, she has many nicknames, including The Strawberry Moose, Cinnamonasaurus, Stells Bells and Mimi.

Stella was a rescue when she found her forever home with Brent in Arizona. He found her at AZ Mastiff Rescue when she was just a year old and after she had already had puppies. Brent says upon seeing Stella of the first time, “She was very shy at first, but she had the sweetest face and saddest eyes. I knew she had to come live with me.”

Fast-forward three years and Brent still sees Stella’s maternal nature come through every night when she takes her “babies,” as in stuffed animals, to bed. The two of them enjoy playing fetch, walking around their neighborhood, and bingeing a good series together. Brent discloses, “She really is my ride-or-die. We do almost everything together.”

Throughout quarantine, Brent and Stella have become even closer. Stella has subsequently developed some additional anxiousness whenever he leaves the house now, so he gives her two beef Chews — her favorite! — if he knows he’ll be gone for an extended period of time. 

While this duo is close as can be, Brent admits, “I think her favorite person in the world is my sixteen-year-old daughter. When she has friends over Stella just wants to be one of the girls.”

Maren & Bogey

Like Brent, Maren, the Territory Sales Manager and Executive Assistant at Kradle, has a rescue dog. Hers is named Bogey, a seven-year-old Great Pyrenees mix.

Maren adopted Bogey through Secondhand Hounds, an animal rescue organization located in our home-base, Minneapolis, when he was just twelve weeks old back in 2013. She gushes of meeting Bogey, “We always knew we wanted to adopt a dog that needed a home, and he was the perfect fit for our family. When we first met him, it was love at first sight!”

Living in Minnesota, Maren and Bogey experience a very wide range of weather conditions — from cold, frigid winters to hot, humid summers. To keep Bogey calm during the loud thunderstorms that are a staple of the spring and summer seasons, Maren uses our quick-dissolving Melts. She explains, “The Melts give him a lot of comfort.” 

Weather-permitting, Maren and Bogey love to take walks around the Minneapolis lakes and go on boat rides at their cabin.

Max & Archie

Max, our Director of Operations, more recently welcomed his dog, Archie, into his life. Archie, a French Bulldog, was just a puppy when Max met him last April, right as the first COVID-19 related lockdowns were implemented. As Max describes their initial encounter, “He was 6 months old and looking for a new best friend.”

Max admits it was difficult at first trying to help Archie adjust to downtown city life in a high-rise apartment, just as he was adjusting to the new normal himself, including working from home. A year later, Max and Archie couldn’t be happier together! Max suggests, “COVID-19 has given us lots of bonding time.”

When the day comes that Max has to return to the Kradle office, he’s prepared to help Archie through the transition with Toppers and Melts. The Toppers are already part of Archie’s daily routine, and, according to Max, he “will only let someone trim his nails after a Melt.” 

A pair of social best friends, Max and Archie like to spend their free time taking walks around local dog parks and meeting new furry and human friends.  

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Enjoy National Love Your Pet Day with your dog! Click here to shop for the Kradle products — Chews, Toppers, Melts — our team members have described above.