BarkWorld Expo by I-5 Publishing - A Review for Pet Influencers

Trista with Lisa Illman

By Trista Polo

I had never heard of BarkWorld. As a new blogger and pet-based business I had been focusing on general internet marketing training and am pretty new to twitter and networking with other pet-based businesses.

Usually I hear about these things a few weeks AFTER the event or worse yet just hours after the replays expire. So when I saw a post about it on Twitter from one of the event speakers, I was intrigued. A bunch of dog people all in one place? You had me at "Bark".

What Is BarkWorld Expo?

Gus Kensworthy talks Sochi Pups

In case you are in the same boat I was, let's start there. BarkWorldExpo.com is virtual home of a yealy conference that attracts bloggers, writers, authors and promoters of all things cat and dog. Oh, and also it attracts a lot of actual cats and dogs. 

Shorty Rossi talks Pittbulls and More

The sponsors are there to create potential connections that could turn into sponsorships, endorsements or affiliate relationships. There is training as well that would be of interest to bloggers, writers, influencers. This year they had topics including how to get into media publications, how to do quality pet review videos, how to SEO your blog and more. There were also some great Keynote speakers this year, including Shorty Rossi, Gus Kensworthy and the creators of DogsOfInstagram. The event is pretty jam packed with sessions, parties and networking and there are plenty of vendors to talk with in your down time.

BarkWorld was founded by Denise Quashie and happens yearly in Atlanta, GA. This year, Denise partnered with I-5 Publishing, the creators of Dogster.com, Catster.com and Petcha.com. The next BarkWorld is being held October 13-16.

Who Should Attend?

This is a place to learn how to be a blogger/influencer or to catch up with the many alumni that have been attending for years. It's also a great place to make connections that could turn into business opportunities. There is a lot of education and a great way to learn about new products and companies. You also have an opportunity to meet rescue organizations and companies that share their proceeds with rescues.

I established AccordingToBella.com less than a year ago and my goal was to pass along what I am learning about active dogs, rescue and fostering as well as create a community. I have been working on expanding my content, my influence and my income. And I'll admit, I have been struggling to find our voice. 

So if you are on a new journey, BarkWorld is a great way to spend a weekend. But it's definitely not just for "Newbies". Many attendees have been attending since the event was establish and some have very large followings already. There were bloggers (both very established and new), product inventors (both very established and new), writers, authors, rescue organizations and they all got value from being there.

Should I Bring My Dog?

First thing I will say is I'm glad I didn't bring Bella for my first time. It was so fun seeing all the dogs there, and they did offer doggie yoga and day care..but as a first timer I felt much better without the added maintenance and attention to Bella. Not only that, Bella is pretty excited around other dogs and just can't control herself yet. So I'm adding "being calm around dogs" to Bella's Training To Do list for next BarkWorld.

What Can I expect Before the Event?

Talk about creating a community. The BarkWorld organizers are experts! The moment I was registered, I was added to the attendee-only Facebook group. This group is active, interactive and supportive. Seasoned attendees, "Newbies", Sponsors and Speakers all chatted, posted and shared photos. I felt like the event had already started! In addition, some of the sponsors began educating the group on their products so you already felt like you had a leg up when you arrived. It was also nice to feel like I was walking into a room full of future friends that I had interacted with...instead of a room full of strangers.

I also got important updates and opportunities on the Facebook group, including an inquiry for attendees interested in attending one of the Sponsor Dinners. A Sponsor Dinner is just what you may guess - dinner with one of the Event Sponsors. It could be an intimate group with presentations or a laid back social event. I was able to snag one of the spots with Diamond Sponsor, KuddlyPets, on the night before the event kicked off. It was so amazing to learn about their company and their mission over dinner with the creators, their amazing staff and a small group of the attendees.

I would recommend registering as early as possible. It may save you on the cost of the ticket, but more importantly it will afford you opportunities for invite-only/space-limited activities like speed networking.

What Can I Expect During the Event?

It's a full schedule but you can pick and choose what you want to attend. There are Keynote speakers and smaller speakers. There is also a roundtable session where you can talk in small groups with industry experts on topics like branding, SEO and more. All of the meals are included so you can expect continental breakfast, buffet lunch and some sort of activity around dinner ... launch parties, sponsor dinners, etc. You have an opportunity to set up your schedule beforehand, which I would recommend. This way each morning your day's schedule is waiting for you in your email.

Even though the talks are great and quite informative, I felt like I had PLENTY of time to network with other attendees and with the sponsors. The expo piece is a great place to create potential future relationships that could turn into collaboration or business partnerships in the future. While there, I had an opportunity to meet with some amazing companies that I may end up working with in some capacity in the future. And in most cases you are meeting the founder, creator, owner of the company so you really get to know what they are about. Keep in mind, these companies are looking to meet influencers and click with possible future reviewers and endorsers of their product. So it's a different experience than going to a home show where everyone with a booth is hoping you will buy from them. In this case, you and the sponsors are looking to create symbiotic relationships and it creates a whole new opportunity to relate.

Did I mention the dogs? So many amazing and fabulous dogs! Some of the sponsors' dogs were there representing and plenty of the influencers and bloggers brought their dogs as well. Many of these dogs have quite large followings so you may have recognized the dog before their owner if you are a fan. The stars of DogOnlyKnows.com, PrestonSpeaks.com, LittleDogInTheBigCity.com and TunaMeltsMyHeart.com were in attendance. There were even a couple of cats in attendance and there was a special cat blogger breakfast where cat bloggers could meet with cat-focused sponsors.

How Can I Take Best Advantage of This Event When I Attend?

Inspired by one of the speakers, Lisa Illman, I decided to use this event as a platform to LAUNCH @bellascope, AccordingToBella's Periscope channel. I knew there would be a ton of opportunities for content and a perfect place to introduce #hopescopes - a Periscope themed segment on highlighting rescue organizations and their stories. In fact, BarkWorld ENCOURAGES social media interaction. People are filming, tweeting, Instagraming and scoping their way through the event. There were lots of corners where interviews and chats were going out into the social media waves during the event. In addition, you were able to collect lots of content opportunities for the weeks and months following the event. You may want to plan to review the event (um...that's what I'm doing right now!), the swag (so much swag!!) and begin to explore partnerships that were sparked while in attendance.

The opportunities to create new business relationships, friendships, partnerships and trusted friendships is limited only by your willingness to participate.

I would love to hear your take-aways from BarkWorld if you have attended - what nuggets can I take with me next year to get even more value out of my weekend?

Bonus tips:

• If you are new to this, make sure you have a nice foundation of content and internet presence established before you go - this will work in your favor when companies check you out before offering you business partnership opportunities.
• Bring comfortable shoes you'll be walking a lot.
• If you plan to scope or record, bring a good phone camera or ipod, tripod and mic for best quality final product.
• If scoping, make sure to use Katch.me or save your scopes on your device because you can re-purpose all those great moments later.
• Get photos with as many of the product owners, famous dogs and cats and attendees as you can, so you have lots to choose from when planning your BarkWorld-inspired content.
• Keep the NOTIFICATIONS on for the Facebook group during the event for additional "wanna meet up, I'm headed to dinner" opportunities.
• Say YES to whatever is offered (sponsor dinner, speed dating, media opportunities with Keynote speakers, demo volunteers) you never know what opportunities will open up from that YES.
• Have a goal to talk to a new person you haven't met yet at every meal. Saunter up to someone eating a muffin and strike up a conversation...sit at a table with an entirely new group of people at lunch...join a group for a drink at a launch party.
• Do your best not to end up in comfortable groups of your old friends - it could prevent you from a life-changing interaction.

Foster Chronicles - Romona the German Shephard Mix

UPDATE and NEW INFORMATION on ROMONA:
Great News! Romona (now spelled Ramona) was adopted by a Forever Family! She will live her life - how ever long she has left - happy and loved and part of a family. She was adopted with a waived adoption fee because her health future is unknown. She had so many BB pellets in her body that surgery was not an option. Therefore, they could not repair the hernia and relocate her organs. We wish her a LONG and happy life with her forever family. Happy Tails Ramona!

Unfortunately, because of her condition - the diaphragmatic hernia - her organs will eventually suffocate her heart. She was adopted without an adoption fee because there is no way to know how long she will live. She has over 250 BB pellets imbedded in her skin, which made surgery impossible. I'm told the pellets are probably due to her ending up on land where she wasn't welcome. There is a custom to shoot stray dogs with BB guns to get them off their lawn. So Ramona was either quite persistent or didn't get the message. I like to think of her as being unstoppable.

Below is the original post:

We are fairly new to fostering so we are still learning all the rewards and challenges that come with this gift of service.

We learned a new lesson with Romona - that there's a dark side to the Fostering experience.

We were foster-free. Henry had been fostered and we were less than 2 weeks away from a trip that would take us out of town for over a week. So no more fostering till we got back to town. And then I saw Romona on the Crate Escape Foster Safe page. They couldn't rescue her from the shelter without a foster family and no one had stepped up.

All I need to hear is - this dog will not be saved - and you have me at your mercy. I figured she would be in the foster system for longer than we had to foster her but better than death row.

Russell picked her up because I was out of town. She was shedding but other than that seemed ok. I asked for updates and photos and all he said was - she won't let me stop petting her. She loves people over dogs and really had no interest in Bella ... which was too bad for Bella. She really just wanted to be pet. She would put her paw on you if you stopped. I was working on ridding her of this habit so her next move was to LEAN on you. She would do what an old friend of mine would call being "IN" you - so close there is NO SPACE. She would scootch up to you so she could really get right up against your leg. It was an insistent and needy love - but love just the same. And her soft eyes and peaceful disposition were hard to resist.

She was due for her vet visit 4 days after she arrived to our house. I dropped her off and the Vet gave her the once over. I mentioned she was favoring her back left leg. She also seemed really skinny. The Vet thought she may have already been spayed but couldn't find a scar.

I was surprised to find out that she would be on 1 month bed rest until she was cleared for adoption, activity, play of any kind. Heart worm treatment post-op procedure. If they exert themselves they could clot and die. I didn't realize heart worm was such serious business. I didn't think Romona would mind the inactivity - though the crate living would be terrible for her. I couldn't help but think of how Bella would do with this scenario. I get stressed for her just thinking about it.

I was due to pick her up on the 3rd day of her stay ... 1 day for the spay and 2 days for the heart treatment. But then I got a message from the foster coordinator that she needed to give me an update.

It was not good. Here's what she said...

"...Ramona was anesthetized for her spay surgery, they found out she was already spayed but while in there, found what that thought was a mass. Her organs we're not where they were supposed to be.'

'They did some imaging and diagnosed her with a diaphragmatic hernia, which means her organs which should be in the abdomen, were in her chest.'

'Well that was only the tip of the iceberg. She had a pelvic fracture which healed funny

A leg fracture that healed wrong, hence the limp. She had bee Bee pellets in her.

And she (still) has heartworm.'


'She also had complications while under for surgery due to her condition. So.......she did not get heartworm treatment.'

'...the hernia obviously needs to be fixed, but that's another story. It's got to be done by a specialist and we were quoted ($5,000 to $7,000)."

I'm not sure what will happen now. At the time of this writing, Romona had not yet had the heartworm treatment and the money for the surgery would need to be raised. We don't know if she was hit by a car and never treated or if she was abused. Either way it's a terrible thing to go through and she's too sweet to have deserved such a roadblock to her forever home.

Please send lots of prayers to Romona for a speedy recovery and a happily ever after!

Foster Chronicles - Henry the Hound

For our first official Foster experience I wanted to EASE us in. So we offered to foster Henry - a hound mix that had been bumping around the Crate Escape foster system for a while and didn't have a Foster family at the time of our approved Foster application. Henry - a name that makes me think of a sweet...ornery...senior. So the name fit him perfectly ;-) They had him down as 3 but I am sure he was at least 6.

He and Bella got along great! He was very low key but he could wrestle and play with Bella for a good 15-20 minutes. Of course he needed a 3 hour nap afterwards but he was a great sport about it! They would wrestle a lot and play and run outside. Bella would take position on the couch and Henry on the floor - both comfortable and both ready for a tussle. It was the cutest thing. They got along great. There were some challenges - like the fact that they absolutely could not ignore the other one when meal time came. Henry can EAT! And he wanted to eat whatever Bella was eating. Also he loved to eat paper..and wood..and cardboard. He would find egg cartons and boxes and notebooks and help with the recycling breakdown.

We got to know Henry's quirks quickly. For example, when he's hungry he would start to gnaw on the nearest piece of furniture. So as long as he got 2 squares a day he never did that. He also had a collapsed trachea. I have to say we didn't know about this at first and were very worried about a cough he developed after a run with Bella in the yard. But all we had to do was blow into his nose with his mouth held closed and he was good as new. He also loved to bite his nails - great for those grooming bills! He would be in his crate but he was so low key and slept so much that he was fine without a crate too. So we quickly realized he should just be left to nap in the living room for short spurts when we were out and he slept on a dog bed in our room at night.

Henry was a sweet heart and was adopted by a great family with another dog named Cookie (also a Crate Escape rescue)
in Wappingers Falls NY. We loved having him with us...even though sometimes he could be a bit of an asshole LOL.

Happy tails Henry!

Agency - Crate Escape
Temperament - low key, affectionate, stubborn, playful
Favorite toy - wood block specially treated for dog use from Puppy Paws in Cornwall
Rewards - Henry was in the system for a while and didn't have a foster family. We loved being able to give him a comfy place to hang out with a furry friend, fenced yard and food galore. He has the best eyes and enjoys a good rub down.
Challenges - His stubbornness translated to him being hard to move around so you would run into him a lot when you expected him to get out of the way. Once we learned his quirks and special needs (listed above), there were no challenges with Henry.

Foster Chronicles - Betsy now Princess Bella - a brindle Hound mix

You may not count Betsy in our foster family. She was only with us for 2 hours and it was only because her foster family work schedule conflicted with transport pickup. I thought -I'll be there anyway so we can take her for a few hours.

Well that was all the time it took for her to steal my heart. We are on our 5th foster so far if you count Betsy - which I don't think most would - and she was the hardest to let go of.

It's bittersweet to me that she found her forever home (photo below) because a part of me really wanted to adopt her even though I knew deep ... deep ...DEEP down that she wasn't a good fit for our family.

This was my first experience with transport. You arrive and then you wait - in this case you wait in the very hot sun - for the transport to arrive. It's not an exact arrival time because they are coming from pretty far away ... in this case North Carolina.

There are toys, collars and food all laid out. The foster families all seemed to have done this before so they were getting the supplies they needed, chatting with the volunteers and each other or enjoying their car's air conditioning.

When the transport arrived, everyone gathered. Each dog was brought out one by one. First was the new mom. Then her puppies - oh the little cute puppies!! Children and adults alike came forward as their dog's name was called. The local humane society was there for photo moments with each family. The process moved along nicely - get your dog, get a photo, get a drink of water (the dog, not the humans!) and then get to the grassy area for a pee.

The dogs were kept apart for safety reasons - all leashed, all with their foster families.

Betsy was the sweetest thing you ever saw. She was skinny and had the puppy body movements - a bit awkward, bouncy, high energy. You don't know how it's cute to see this awkward body moving around but it so is!

She was a good temperament. Not shy or stressed. Cooperative.

We took her home and I stayed with her in the basement as we were advised to keep new fosters and current dogs apart for 24-48 hours.

I set up my computer to work, but Betsy was just too curious. =) We spent lots of time in the back yard - she never relieved herself in the house and did all her business outside. She was so adorable and loving and affectionate and needy and fabulous.

When her foster dad arrived, she had already attached herself to me and I to her. I would never have guessed that 2 hours would be long enough to make giving a foster up a hard thing to do. I ached for her for days. I considered adopting her. I had irrational thoughts of losing her to someone at an upcoming Renegades game!

This feeling passed slowly because I knew she wasn't the right dog for our family. But she will be the right dog for a very lucky family. And I know she'll have a great life!

Here's Betsy's first photo with her forever family. Her name is Princess Bella and she has a furry brother named Sir Bozzly who is also an adorably awesome rescue. We are so happy her foster family - Tom and Devin - took great care of Betsy and got her ready to live happily ever after. Happy tails Betsy... I mean Princess Bella =)

Agency - Crate Escape
Temperament - playful, clingy, adventurous
Favorite toy - bugs
Rewards - she was so loving and needy that you instantly wanted to keep her safe and love her forever and she had plenty of love and loyalty to give in return
Challenges - biggest challenge was giving her up


*All photos of Betsy are via the Crate Escape Foster Safe group

Foster Chronicles - Baby Girl the Tuxedo Cat

When we took Baby Girl in, it was with the intention of keeping her. I had these romanticized thoughts of her bonding instantly with Bella and living happily ever after. Unfortunately, it was quickly apparent that this was never going to happen.

Baby Girl had a rough past. She was on her own for many years though she ate quite well thanks to a friendly and kind Deli owner on Long Island. We think she lived with an elderly woman who passed away and was sent out on her own to fend for herself. Thank goodness for the kindness of the local business owner. For 4 years she was fed turkey and american cheese (her favorite!) and spent lots of time on the back patio with the owner.

Unfortunately, when the deli was sold to a new owner, Baby Girl was left wanting as the new owner was not as generous or kind to this stray Tuxedo cat.

The kind deli owner felt sorry for Baby Girl and brought her home to live. It was only then that the two resident dogs revealed their hatred of cats and the deli owner's allergies revealed themselves.

Baby Girl needed to be rehomed immediately and let's face it - an animal in need has a home with me indeed!

Baby Girl lived with us in our basement, venturing up only when Bella was safely in her crate or our bed for the night. Her favorite thing to do was sit at a window watching the birds and nature.
 

I'm happy to say Baby Girl now lives in her forever home with a wonderful and kind and cat loving family! She has a human sister and a feline sister...though she gets along best with her human sister.

She can be found in windowsills all around the house, looking out at the birds and deer and rabbits. The perfect forever home for her!

This was our first experience fostering and while it was challenging, I am so glad we were able to transition Baby Girl to a home she can feel safe in.

Here are some photos of Baby Girl in her new home, courtesy of Heather Lynn - 

Agency - NONE
Temperament - scared, loving, playful, choosey
Favorite toy - catnip and feather at the end of a stick (a tie)
Rewards - when she was in the mood to play it was so fun to watch her and interact with her and the feather stick. She was a hunter - a stealth cat. And when she was in the mood to show her affection, she would rub against your leg and nuzzle her face into your foot. She wasn't overly generous with her playfulness or affection so when she showed it you knew it was genuine and from a really sacred place.
Challenges - her fear of men and dogs made it difficult for her to live in our house. She stayed in the basement and would only let her guard down around me. Bella was curious about her and when other dogs would visit we had to ensure a gate was up so they didn't go check out that funny cat smell in the basement. We needed a solitary and secluded place for her to be which made it difficult for me to spend time with her because I had do do so on her terms, in her space.

What a New Foster Family DOESN'T KNOW CAN HURT a Rescue

Bella was rescued by Crate Escape - an organization that rescues around 30-50 dogs every 6 weeks from a rarely visited kill shelter in North Carolina.

HELP US EDUCATE NEW FOSTERS - RESCUE ORGANIZATIONS PLEASE TAKE OUR 10 QUESTION SURVEY

FOSTERING is a huge part of the rescue process for organizations like Crate Escape. It is more cost effective for them to run without needing large physical space to hold the dogs. But more importantly, it gives these rescues a chance to acclimate to a home life - something many of them have never experienced.

Some of these rescues have never climbed steps, walked on a leash, been loved by a family. Some were mistreated by their owner or had to fight for food. And some of them arrive heart worm positive.

We need foster families that can see the diamond in what is sometimes a little rough.

Someone that can see the heart and soul beyond the mange can make a huge difference fostering.

I WAS SAD TO LEARN that many foster families give up a few days into their first experience - leaving the newly rescued dog homeless before (s)he had a chance to get a second chance. This leaves the organization scrambling to find a new foster family for the dog while trying to find the permanent placements for all the dogs currently in foster care.

EDUCATION AND AWARENESS are a huge need. Not only to make the dog-loving public aware of fostering and the benefits...but also to prepare new foster families for what to expect so they have the highest chance of success with their foster dogs.

IT'S MY GOAL to erradicate this hurdle and give these rescues that much more of a smooth transition as they blossom from abandoned and at risk to loving family member.

WE'RE RUNNING A QUICK 10 QUESTION SURVEY FOR RESCUE ORGANIZATIONS. Our goal is to compile information to help shape this resource to THEIR needs.

The final product will be a 7 part series that can be used as a FREE RESOURCE for organizations that utilize fostering as part of their rescue process.

PLEASE FORWARD THIS BLOG AND SURVEY LINK TO YOUR FAVORITE RESCUE ORGANIZATIONS - We want their feedback so that our final product is the BEST POSSIBLE RESOURCE we can provide!

Fosters Needed Desperatly in Hudson Valley NY

I just read a very sad post from Crate Escape - a rescue organization in the Hudson Valley.

Approx. every 6 weeks and save 40-50 dogs from being destroyed due to lack of space and overpopulation. But now, due to a lack of foster home availability, they are suspending all dog rescue activity until further notice.

Crate Escape fosters these dogs and promotes them through social media/their website/Petfinder/live adoption events and other avenues to help them all find homes. They have a wonderful track record and have helped so many dogs including Bella. As I watch Bella chewing her latest favorite toy, I can't image her light being extinguished before she had an opportunity to find us - a journey that took the first 8 months of her life.

Fosters are urgently needed so that Crate Escape can get back to what they do best - finding great homes for great dogs.




A good foster needs the following:
- 2 to 6 week commitment of offering temporary housing to a dog in need
- ability to socialize the dog and help them acclimate from kennel life to family life
- willingness to love and teach the dog and help them establish the skills that will make them a great addition to any family
- willingness to have the dog get to their vet visits as scheduled

Crate Escape covers the cost of the dog's care and medical expenses while fostering. This could be a great option for a family that wants to experience dog ownership but can't afford the costs of a new addition to the family.

To learn more WATCH THE VIDEO and contact Crate Escape at fostersafe1@gmail.com and let them know you are available to foster. Visit Crate Escape on Facebook to see all the great work they are doing.

Do You Know Any Great Foster Families?

Bella was fostered by an awesome foster family who helped save her life. Many organizations, like Crate Escape, don't have the facilities to hold dogs they have rescued so they rely on Foster families to house the dogs until they have found a suitable forever home.

Without foster families, dogs are not able to be rescued and can meet an untimely and tragic end.

Just imagining all the love and laughter we would have missed if Bella's foster family hadn't stepped up - well it's not even a thought I can bear.

We want to be a resource for foster families - especially those considering it for the first time - so they go in with eyes open, realistic expectations set and most importantly the best experience for them and their foster dogs.

Please share a comment below or email accordingtobella@gmail.com if you know a foster family (including yourself!) that has advice to share with future foster families.

I never want to see "potential rescued dogs are being removed from the list because we don't have enough foster families" on my Facebook feed or anywhere else.

Please help!