Meet the #USBarkRangers Team

Who is your Bark Ranger?
Miss Maisy Daisy, aka Wiggle Butt, aka Maisita! She is a very sweet, super velcro girl! I just rescued her about a year ago. We did our very first Bark Ranger visit in January but she recently added to her accolades with an awesome roadtrip to 13 NPS sites!

My previous Bark Ranger, Bella Brown, was the reason we started the group! Bella and I found the Bark Ranger program too late in her life, so it's important to me to get Maisy these awesome experiences starting early on! And last, but not least, was my first dog as an adult, Sadie Lou. She was never a Bark Ranger, as she passed before Bella and I discovered the program. Sadie was a super sweet, absolutely adorable, and absolutely rotten beagle!
 

What is one thing you love about being a Bark Ranger enthusiast?
Everything, really! My best friend Nicki and I created the group to better share info with people on where they could make great memories with their pups! I love being able to find a special way to share my great passion and hobby of visting park sites with my girl and being able to have her involved! And, I love seeing everyone else's experiences, as well! It is awesome that we have, hopefully, helped facilitate, in some small way, great memories with pawrents and their Bark Rangers!
 

What are things you would like to do or see this year with your pup?
We already accomplished an awesome trip where we visited 13 park sites! There are a lot of state parks locally that we would like to start checking out once the weather gets cooler!
 

What is something about you that is interesting or unusual and not related to your dog?
I am a trumpet player and a music teacher. I didn't really start traveling incessantly and get obsessed with national park visits until 2018. I have now been blessed to visit 42 of the National Parks and just about an equal number of the "smaller " units of the National Park Service!
 

What is your favorite part of being on the Admin team?
It has been a pleasure making friendships through the page because we all have this common interest! I've had the pleasure of meeting some of the other moderators and other members of the group in real life which has been pawesome! Also, we don't really miss any posts and it's always really neat to see where members are taking their pups and seeing new spots that I haven't been to!

  Who are your Bark/Meow Rangers?
Jordan our little Spanish Galgo, Joy the newest member of our pack, and Traveller my big Greyhound boy.
 

What is one thing you love about being a Bark Ranger enthusiast?
Combining my love for National Parks with my life work of adopting retired racing Greyhounds. I’ve had the honor to serve as director of Greyhound Crossroads for almost 30 years! Being able to encourage our adopters to visit NP’s responsibly, while also supporting public lands and their legacy to the future, is a perfect fit for me. I started the BARK program in my local NP site and feel it’s a small way to give back.
 

What are things you would like to do or see this year with your pup(s)?
My goal is revisit the SC and close NC BARK sites with our newest greyhound girl Joy. I retired last year but haven’t had a chance to get her started yet! I’m also working on earning the Ultimate Outsider by visiting all state parks in SC. It’s my hope to extend the national BARK program by getting our state parks involved too.
 

What is something about you that is interesting or unusual and not related to your dog(s)?
The first thing that comes to mind is my trip last week to Alaska! I have dreamed my whole life of visiting Glacier Bay NP and my mother dreamed of seeing the Inner Passage. We planned a cruise together with my step father and had a marvelous adventure! Saw glaciers, humpbacks, orca, the Tongass Rain Forest, and experienced totem pole carving with Tlingit master artists. The last night we were blessed with the Northern Lights right over our heads on the ship. A trip with unbelievable blessings I will never forget.
 

What is your favorite part of being on the Admin team?
Being a part of these fabulous team feels very rewarding. It’s a way in which I can encourage people to experience and become invested in what is close and dear to my heart. May we keep spreading the good word and set the example for being good pet parents.

  Who are your Bark Rangers?
Denali: 2.5 year old Great Pyrenees mix Smoke is my “Hoof” Ranger: 19 year old Missouri Fox Trotter. He’s only been to one park, but he still counts! Lol
 

What is one thing you love about being a Bark Ranger enthusiast?
I’m cheating on this question because I have more than one thing I love! First off, I really love having a way to combine my love of the national parks with my love of my dog. It’s always been fun taking him to some of the state and local parks, but finding out about the Bark Ranger program has opened a lot of doors for new adventures for both of us. I’ve always enjoyed visiting the national parks, but incorporating the Bark Ranger aspect has taken me to some of them I probably wouldn’t have gone to just on my own, so it’s definitely expanded my horizons and gotten me to some of the parks I would have considered more “boring” or not worth the trip. It’s also inspired me to take him with me on some of my trips, which I hadn’t really considered before. It’s so rewarding and a lot of fun to see him enjoying his time in new places and landscapes we don’t have where we live. I also love that I have discovered and been to some of the smaller NPS units, state parks, and wildlife refuges I had never heard of or had particular interest in visiting. I’ve learned so much at some of these smaller, unknown sites, and it’s made me more interested in researching and visiting more of them. Lastly, I love how Bark Ranger promotes and encourages visiting places with your dog, and gives you a bit of a purpose, goal, and “excuse” for taking them with you. We all love hanging out with our pups, but having an extra reason to take them places or travel with you makes it all the more special.
 

What are things you would like to do or see this year with your pup(s)?
Hoping to make it to Tennessee, North Carolina, and Alabama in October for another Bark Ranger journey! In the meantime, I’d like to visit some more of my Missouri state parks. Even when we aren’t going somewhere, I just look forward to hanging out and spending time with Denali. He’s a character and has made me laugh each day since I’ve had him. We don’t have to be going out doing anything special for it to be a good time.
 

What is something about you that is interesting or unusual and not related to your dog(s)?
I’m one of the rare people who can say I love my job. I am a stable attendant/caretaker for the mounted police horses in St. Louis. I’ve had a passion for horses since I was a kid, and I feel so blessed to be able to have two horses of my own now, as well as having my work focused on them. Also, I don’t know how unusual this is, especially in a group like this, but I also really love visiting the national parks and exploring the “wild” places they have to offer. I’m very much drawn to the mountains, wildlife, and vast open spaces; I’ve been to Yellowstone seven times and still don’t feel like I’ve had enough! It may be unusual that most of the time I do these trips alone, but I’ve come to love the solitude, peace, and silence being on your own offers. You can reflect, think, and rejuvenate when you’re exploring these places with no distractions or timelines. I never thought I was capable of doing 10+ mile hikes, climbing to mountaintops (let alone by myself!), or handling a long road trip alone, but I’m so glad I decided to try. I’ve done some amazing hikes and been fortunate enough to observe and photograph all manner of wildlife, including wolves, grizzlies, moose, black bear, elk, bison, and wild horses. I would have missed out on so many experiences had I not decided to take a chance and just get out there, alone or not. I’ve learned there’s nothing like being the only one at the peak, looking down at the miles of gorgeous landscape surrounding you, or sitting next to an alpine lake, soaking it all in, or hiking out into the plains and being the only human amidst several bands of wild horses, just sitting and observing them for hours. No matter where I am, I try to just appreciate how lucky I am to be in such untamed, stunning places the majority of people will never see or experience.
 

What is your favorite part of being on the Admin team?
I love being able to be a part of promoting and educating people on getting out there and visiting the national parks with their dogs. So many people I’ve talked to had no idea dogs were allowed in any of the national parks, so being able to tell them about this fun way of enjoying our parks with their pup is very rewarding. I also love having had the opportunity to make new friends with similar interests, and engage with others who “get” the desire to include their dogs on trips and fun outings. Some people look at me like I’m insane when I say I like to take my dog on vacation, so it’s great having a group of likeminded people who enjoy travel and outings with their pups. Plus, I just love seeing everyone’s dogs. 

Who is your Bark Ranger?
Bruichladdich (Bru for short…lots easier to pronounce). A black lab mixed with moose…he’s 110 pounds.
 

What is one thing you love about being a Bark Ranger enthusiast?
I love hearing about other bark ranger travels and seeing the pictures of places they have been. It’s interesting to “meet” people from around the US and learn about their adventures.
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What are things you would like to do or see this year with your pup?
Not too much this summer because it’s just too dang hot, but come fall, we’ll be doing a trip to the Texas hill country. Next year is a whole new adventure because the husband will be retired and we won’t have time constrictions on where we can go!
 

What is something about you that is interesting or unusual and not related to your dog?
I like cooking and I make a good attempt at gardening, I haunt estate sales because you never know what you’ll find, and I’m really good at repurposing old things.
 

What is your favorite part of being on the Admin team?
Meeting people and their dogs and discovering places I need to go next!

Who are your Bark Rangers?
My original Bark Ranger crew was Timber, beagle, age 16.5 whom I lost late last year; his son, Ridge, age 10; Bright, age 9, Golden Retriever, and her daughter, Tempo, age 3, Golden.
 

What is one thing you love about being a Bark Ranger enthusiast?
My absolute favorite thing is discovering new parks I'd never heard of because of the BR program. There are SO many fascinating parks to visit and learn about and enjoy with my dogs.
 

What are things you would like to do or see this year with your pup(s)?
All 3 compete in scent sports; the girls do dock diving; and my youngest should start obedience this year. I retired last year and am enjoying being able to travel farther to new events and finding Bark Ranger sites to visit on our way!
 

What is something about you that is interesting or unusual and not related to your dog(s)?
I'm a scientist at heart and LOVE learning new things. My career was in laboratory science and was constantly evolving. I've started doing the Junior Ranger programs at many of the parks we visit and love it! I also take several online dog training classes a year.
 

What is your favorite part of being on the Admin team?
It's amazing when you meet like-minded people and instantly bond. This group has become super special to me in a very short time and I enjoy learning from them and about them. I feel privileged to be able to help the best group on Facebook grow and thrive.

Who is your Bark Ranger?
Reeses-6 yr old Catahoula
 

What is one thing you love about being a Bark Ranger enthusiast?
What I like best about being a Bark Ranger enthusiast is being able to combine my love of the outdoors with finding new adventures that can include my little travel buddy Reeses. We have always explored State Parks and local parks, but with Bark Rangers, it gives us many new options of places that we can visit together. Prior to finding the Bark Ranger program we always used State and local parks as our stops during long road trips and now we make sure to add the Bark Rangers stops into our trips.
 

What are things you would like to do or see this year with your pup?
This year we are planning to visit the parks in N. Florida as well as some in South Carolina.
 

What is something about you that is interesting or unusual and not related to your dog?
This is a hard question. My time is devoted to my dogs and my grandkids. I work 2 jobs just so I can go on as many trips as I can to explore nature and shuttle my dog to her sporting events.
 

What is your favorite part of being on the Admin team?
I love being part of a group that promotes time with your dogs/ exploring nature. The group allows me to connect with like minded individuals who share the same interests. It is a fun uplifting group full of nothing but positive posts.