Meet Our Ambassadors: Michele + Barkley

Written by: Michele, @thebeautysnitch

I am one of the millions (and counting) of Americans that adopted a dog during the pandemic. In my suburban Philadelphia neighborhood, a mini poodle down the street had an unplanned pregnancy with a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, and Barkley was born. My then-boyfriend and I took Barkley in, but a few months later, we broke up. Barkley found himself moving from the only home he’d ever known, and at the same time, losing one of the two significant humans in his life. 

It was traumatic, to say the least, and Barkley became depressed and lost interest in eating. Eventually, he’d nibble here and there, but I was worried sick about him. I tried food after food to no avail, including the one he’d been eating for an entire year without issue. As one does, I turned to friends, family, and social media for suggestions. 

Through my internet research, I discovered fresh, human-grade dog food. I knew continuing to try and feed Barkley table scraps was unsustainable and potentially unsafe. The chances of stumbling upon a canned or dry food that Barkley actually liked were also slim. Ollie seemed like a great middle-ground; I wanted something healthy yet undeniably appealing to Barkley.

In onboarding with Ollie, I took immense comfort in the personalized quiz to determine exactly how much Barkley should eat. I knew this was key to keeping his weight on track for living his longest and healthiest life possible. I loved that this calculated amount then came pre-packaged, so it was easy for me (or anyone else caring for Barkley if I was away) to feed Barkley. With Ollie’s four different flavor options, I was confident Barkley would not get bored of his food and start to turn his nose up. While Barkley had to learn to trust this new type of food because it was a different texture than he had before, once he did, it was game over!

My dog mom instincts were right! Barkley runs to his food bowl as soon as he hears the Ollie packaging being taken from the fridge. He eats it all in one sitting, and the different flavors keep him on his toes. He recently got sick at daycare, and his veterinarian was surprised that even that didn’t stop him from eating his food! 

With the help of Ollie, Barkley and my hearts were mended. All Barkley needed was the food itself, but the peace of mind I gained from Ollie’s initial “pack” experience and continued customer journey goes a long way too.