Entry 2: Louisville Gave Us Everything
Over several days, Louisville handed us one story after another — each one a different proof of the same truth.
Dog Hill: Alberta, Alfie, and a Dachshund Who Loves Garbanzo Beans
Cherokee Park’s informal “Dog Hill” was exactly what it sounds like: pet parents gathered on a beautiful afternoon, stories coming easily.
There was the woman whose dachshund has a weakness for garbanzo beans and falls asleep when she speaks to him in a certain voice. And there was the gentleman with Alberta — not a pet, not a companion, but a collaborative partner. Someone he works alongside, thinks alongside, moves through the world alongside. The word choice was deliberate. Alberta wasn’t just loved. Alberta was respected.
That distinction is exactly what myFurever is built for.
Purrfect Day Café: What a Mission Looks Like in Action
Purrfect Day Café, which opened in 2018 in Louisville’s Highlands neighborhood, became the first cat café in the United States to reach 10,000 adoptions. They originally estimated 300 adoptions a year. They now average 1,700.
The model: in partnership with the Kentucky Humane Society, the café fosters cats who would otherwise be in a shelter. People come in, sit with the cats, fall in love, and take one home. No pressure. The bond happens first. The adoption follows.
Sound familiar?
PG&J’s Dog Bar: Built on the Same Belief
PG&J’s on Baxter Avenue is Louisville’s first indoor/outdoor off-leash dog park and bar. The name tells the origin story: Paco, Ginnie, and J Roddy, three Texas rescue pups, inspired the whole thing.
We told the owner our story — how Roxy and Leo came into Lisa and Emilio’s lives and quietly rearranged everything. She understood immediately. Their business was born the same way: not from a market opportunity, but from love.
Our sound system had other plans that afternoon. We’re laughing about it now.
But one conversation stayed with us. A woman was moving to another state, leaving her dog Tino behind for a stretch. We walked her through what myFurever could do — a living record of Tino’s story, PetGrams across distance, a Circle of Love that keeps the bond alive regardless of miles.
Tino’s Circle of Love. That’s what we called it, right there in the middle of PG&J’s.
Tom Sawyer Park: Every Step for the Ones Who Can’t Walk Beside Us Yet
The Arrow Fund — a Louisville nonprofit dedicated to rescuing animal victims of abuse and advocating for stronger welfare laws — was hosting the kickoff for their first-annual Arrow Walk when we arrived at E.P. Tom Sawyer Park.
We met a woman there whose story we will carry for a long time. She had lost her home. In the middle of that displacement and grief, her animals pulled her through — not as a metaphor, but as a daily physical fact.
When we told her about myFurever, she paused. She’d loved a dog more than life — a dog who had passed away just over a year ago. She asked if she could still build a profile for him. Gather the photos, the moments, the memories.
We told her: yes. That’s exactly what it’s for.
The bond doesn’t end. myFurever was built to honor that — not just while our pets are with us, but across every distance, including the final one.
Cherokee Park: Katie
We returned to Cherokee Park before leaving Louisville, and met Simon — a magnificent Rhodesian Ridgeback. His person was warm and proud in that quiet way dog parents often are.
I need to pause here. When the idea that would become myFurever was still forming, my cousin Katie was fighting cancer. Katie was fierce and funny and full of life, and she loved two Rhodesian Ridgebacks with everything she had. She died far too young.
When Simon walked toward us in Cherokee Park, I felt her — her presence, her encouragement. I knew she would be completely behind this mission.
I held that feeling quietly. I’m holding it still.
Simon’s story added one more myFurever moment. He’d been adopted from a family whose child turned out to be highly allergic. Rehoming him was an act of love. But a little boy had to say goodbye.
We explained what myFurever could do: Simon’s new dad captures his story. The family who loved him first stays inside it. And that little boy, wherever he is now, can receive PetGrams and remain part of Simon’s Circle of Love.
The bond doesn’t have to be severed when circumstances shift. It just needs somewhere to live.
What Louisville Gave Us
Dog Hill. Purrfect Day. PG&J’s. The Arrow Fund. Cherokee Park. Ten thousand cats with homes. A dachshund who loves garbanzo beans. Tino’s Circle of Love. A grandmother’s laugh. Simon. Katie.
We are so grateful to be on this road.
Follow our journey at myFurever.app
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