Found as a 1-year-old stray, Ozzie was due to be destroyed when he was taken to a (not so good) rescue.

Put in a metal cage with 13 other male dogs; they bit him, pulled his fur out, didn’t let him sleep inside the kennels or eat. I adopted him 4 months later, un-neutered and with no behavioural tests.

I connected immediately with this wild creature. He barked. He growled. He lunged. He wasn’t vicious though; he was scared.

The day after adopting him, I brought this Kilkenny country hound for a walk in the Dublin suburbs. He’d never been on a lead or near traffic, so you can imagine he was mental. An elderly lady screamed at me that “a dog like that should be put down”. When I explained I just rescued him she retorted “dogs like that don’t deserve a second chance”.

In that moment, I decided I would do everything in my power to prove that old wagon wrong. I worked with Oz for 18 months to get him to be a “normal dog”. We have had private trainers, multiple classes, one-on-ones and I even had him trained with Peata.

Ozzie’s anxiety has never stopped him.

Oz has this insatiable exuberance for life & learning that encouraged me to battle my own demons so that I would be able to share him with the world. I wanted others to revel in his “feral to (mostly) fearless” story; I mean he still runs away from his own farts.

When I was at my lowest with (what I know now as a misdiagnosis of) social anxiety disorder & clinical depression, Ozzie helped saved me from that dark place. He will always be my Heart Dog. He got me out of my house, connecting with like-minded people again. He even inspired me to start this business because I wanted to help others, who feel the same way about their dog as I do, have something truly special that they could cherish forever.

EXHAUSTED, TIRED & HUNGRY

you fumble for your keys & make your way inside…

And then, there it is…that familiar sound of 4 paws scampering across the floor to meet you. Suddenly, everything melts away. You’re enveloped by that smile, furiously waggy tail and that special glisten in their eye that says you’re the most important thing in their world…

Dogs have such a deep impact on our lives. Our history with them is not a story based on survival of the fittest, but survival of the friendliest. The vicious wolves were chased away by hunter-gatherers while friendly wolves were invited into a place by the fire. 

I believe in building a community based on that sprouting friendship.

I know what it’s like to feel alone. To feel like you’re crazy because you feel like your dog understands you more than other humans. I created a safe place online and in real life, where dog lovers come together to share the story of their dog. It’s somewhere you can put those thousands of cute photographs of your dog, without fear of being judged. 

The Pawtrait Pack has not only been a phenomenal blessing in my life but it has done something I never even thought about. The Pack has helped members better handle depression, anxiety, and social isolation. We’re family now. I dunno about you, but I think that’s pretty powerful stuff! I want to help more dog parents connect, make life-long friends and enjoy a social life together.

Did you know that a wolf pack will place their elderly, young & wounded at the front of their pack to set the pace so that no-one ever gets left behind? That’s our motto; so #followthepack if you want to belong to something truly special.

DO WE GO TOGETHER LIKE GRAVY & BONES?

AM I THE RIGHT FIT FOR YOU?

Found as a 1-year-old stray, Ozzie was due to be destroyed when he was taken to a (not so good) rescue.

Put in a metal cage with 13 other male dogs; they bit him, pulled his fur out, didn’t let him sleep inside the kennels or eat. When we adopted him 4 months later, he was un-neutered and wasn’t behaviorally tested.

I connected immediately with this wild creature. He barked. He growled. He lunged. He wasn’t vicious though; he was scared.

The day after adopting him, I brought this country hound for a walk in the Dublin suburbs. He’d never been on a lead or near traffic, so you can imagine he was mental. Some woman screamed at me that “a dog like that should be put down”. When I explained I just rescued him she shouted that “dogs like that don’t deserve a second chance”.

In that moment, I decided I would do everything in my power to prove that old wagon wrong. My partner Ronan and I worked with Oz for 18 months to get him to be a “normal dog”. We had private trainers, classes and I even had him trained with Peata.

Ozzie’s anxiety has never stopped him.

He has this insatiable exuberance for life & learning that encouraged me to battle my own demons so that I would be able to share him with the world. I wanted others to revel in his “feral to (mostly) fearless” story; I mean he still runs away from his own farts.

When I was at my lowest with my social anxiety disorder & clinical depression, Ozzie helped saved me from that dark place. He will always be my Heart Dog. He got me out of my house, connecting with like-minded people again. He even inspired me to start this business because I wanted to help others, who feel the same way about their dog as I do, have something truly special that they could cherish forever.

EXHAUSTED, TIRED & HUNGRY

you fumble for your keys & make your way inside…

And then, there it is…that familiar sound of 4 paws scampering across the floor to meet you. Suddenly, everything melts away. You’re enveloped by that smile, furiously waggy tail and that special glisten in their eye that says you’re the most important thing in their world…

Dogs have such a deep impact on our lives. Our history with them is not a story based on survival of the fittest, but survival of the friendliest. The vicious wolves were chased away by hunter-gatherers while friendly wolves were invited into a place by the fire. 

I believe in building a community based on that sprouting friendship.

I know what it’s like to feel alone. To feel like you’re crazy because you feel like your dog understands you more than other humans. I created a safe place online and in real life, where dog lovers come together to share the story of their dog. It’s somewhere you can put those thousands of cute photographs of your dog, without fear of being judged. 

The Pawtrait Pack has not only been a phenomenal blessing in my life but it has done something I never even thought about. The Pack has helped members better handle depression, anxiety, and social isolation. We’re family now. I dunno about you, but I think that’s pretty powerful stuff! I want to help more dog parents connect, make life-long friends and enjoy a social life together.

Did you know that a wolf pack will place their elderly, young & wounded at the front of their pack to set the pace so that no-one ever gets left behind? That’s our motto; so #followthepack if you want to belong to something truly special.

DO WE GO TOGETHER LIKE GRAVY & BONES?

AM I THE RIGHT FIT FOR YOU?