Barks & Bunnies

23/08/2026

Out with Orla and Kizzie this afternoon when this appeared overhead.

A red kite. Just circling, unbothered, enormous.

They were extinct in England for over a century, until a landmark reintroduction program brought them back to English skies from Spain in the 1990s. And now - on a Sunday walk in Surrey, on an ordinary August afternoon - one appears above your head. We all stopped to watch.

I never take moments like this for granted. Such beauty. What a world we get to walk through.

21/08/2026

Twenty feet of freedom, with a line back to you.

Some dogs are built for more. More ground to cover, more to investigate, more world to take in. A long line makes more possible.

The Rogue Long Line is brand new from Ruffwear - and new to Barks & Bunnies too. Twenty feet of lightweight Tubelok webbing, a lockable screwgate carabiner, and no handle by design. It trails flat on the ground, it doesn't snag, and it lets you say yes more often.

Our personal favourite? Blaze Orange. You'll never lose it in long grass.

Shop the Ruffwear Rogue Long Line at barksandbunnies.co.uk - link in bio. 🖤

Amy

12/08/2026

Tonight, there's a solar eclipse. 🌑

We'll be watching the sky. But we'll also be watching Orla and Kizzie - because animals notice things we don't. The quiet before. The shift in the light. The moment the birds stop.

If you're lucky enough to catch it tonight, watch your pets too. Do they go still? Do they settle early? Does your rabbit start thumping for no reason?

Tell us what happens. We'd love to know. 🖤

Amy

09/08/2026

My constant practice partner. 🧘‍♀️🐾

Orla's rule: no mat gets unrolled without her. She's there every single time - right beside me for the first few minutes, soaking in the quiet, then she settles nearby for the duration. We ground together. I wouldn't wish it any other way.

What are your pets joining you for this weekend? 👇🩷




Thank you to Adriene Mishler and Find What Feels Good Official for the thoughtful sessions and Manduka Yoga Europe and Asia for making such great mats.

08/08/2026

I have a confession: despite being a Leo, summer is actually my least favourite season. As much as I adore an open fire, a heated blanket, or a long soak in a bath, the intense heat of the summer sun does the exact opposite - it overwhelms my nervous system and leaves me feeling completely dysregulated.

Yet today - August 8th, the peak of midsummer - marks something worth pausing for. In numerology it's treated as a potent peak day of balance and quiet strength. Historically, ancient cultures tracked this exact midsummer window when Sirius - known as the Dog Star - rose alongside the sun. They believed its combined glow brought the hottest days of the year, giving us the origin of the phrase "the Dog Days of summer."

When the heat bakes the earth and the world feels overstimulated, I observe Orla and Kizzie with intrigue and awe. They don't fight the warmth or force themselves to keep striving through it. Instead, they offer a quiet masterclass in nervous system regulation: retreating to a cool patch of shade, slowing their breath, yielding to total stillness.

Whether it's a dog stretched across a quiet room or a rabbit resting peacefully in the shadows - today is a reminder. When the world feels too bright and too hot, the highest form of luxury is allowing yourself to slow down and restore. 🌿

Happy 8/8. How are you and your barks and bunnies finding your calm today?

Amy
x

07/08/2026

The pigeons are still out there. The feathers keep coming. And I'm paying attention.

It can look simple from the outside - a small business, a couple of dogs, a life built around things you love. And so much of it genuinely is. But it can also be complex and relentless.

The days have looked different lately. Two beautiful children waiting their turn. Less time, more noise, more love, more juggling. The kind of shift that creeps up quietly and then lands all at once.

The last few weeks have been hard. Migraines that won't shift. Heat that won't break. The kind of relentless that stacks quietly until you realise you've been carrying more than you knew.

I've been reminding myself - the way I'd remind anyone - that it's okay to have difficult days. That rest isn't failure. That staying open, even when everything feels heavy, is its own kind of strength.

And twice this week, a feather floated in through an open window and landed at my feet. I don't think that's nothing. I think the universe finds the gaps and slips something through. A nudge. Still here. Still with you.

I needed that reminder too.

All the things. 🖤

Amy

07/08/2026

No dogs in this one. Sorry. But sometimes a flag blowing in a beautiful blue sky just has to be shared. Normal programming will resume shortly.

☀️

05/08/2026

Do you feel that shift in the air today? ☁️ 🌬️

I don't know about you, but after weeks of sticking to every surface and dodging the heat, my body is craving comfort. Thick socks. Soft trousers. A long soak in a bath. Sinking under a heavy blanket and feeling properly grounded again.

And it made me think about Orla and Kizzie.

For the past month, the heat hasn't just been physically exhausting for them - it's quietly stripped away their primary safe spaces.

Kizzie especially has felt it. More restless than usual, more vocal, unsettled in a way that's hard to put your finger on but impossible to miss if you know her.

Their favourite plush beds, cushions, rugs and my own bed too (!) became heat traps. To stay cool, they were forced onto hard tile floors and laminate. And that matters more than it might seem.

☁️ Lost anchors - The cosy spots where they retreat to decompress, soothe anxiety, or deep-sleep were off-limits.

☁️ No contact comfort. Snuggling up - with us, or with each other - generated too much heat, cutting off that vital co-regulation.

☁️ Constant low-level stress. Elevated heart rates, endless panting, sleeping on hard surfaces. Their sensory tank has been running on empty.

The same is true for rabbits. Without access to deep hay nests, cool hideouts and soft bedding, their nervous systems feel it just as acutely - they're perhaps just quieter about telling us.

So as the cooler air rolls in, expect a collective exhale.

You'll see it happen. The deep, melting side-sigh as your dog sinks back into their fleece bed. The dramatic flop of a bunny nestling into fresh, soft bedding. The return of lap snuggles and joyful zoomies, now that moving doesn't feel like hard labour.

Their nervous systems are finally getting to reset.

And honestly? Same. 🖤✨

Amy

03/08/2026

Monday morning. Orla and Erica, a vineyard, and a sun that hadn't quite decided to arrive yet.

This is the world we're for. 🖤

03/08/2026