This is Girl Person.
Eight nights. That is all we have left at our little rustico in Portofino, Italy. And as we prepare to close this chapter, we need your help to make it through these final days and begin the next chapter of our work for animal rescue.
The first day we laid eyes on our little rustico was the end of a journey that had taken us years to make. Planning, wishing, thinking we had it all figured out. Pursuing a dream, needing a change. Thinking we could do whatever we put our minds to.
We tried so hard. To the point that my health deteriorated. To the point where finding the strength to even leave felt like too much. It does today.
We arrived with two precious dogs. And we are only leaving physically with one.
We failed. But we have to somehow gather the lessons and use them for what we do best. Saving animals.
Brickle was never just along for this journey. He was the reason for so much of it. He gave us the courage to dream bigger, to take chances, to believe that a different life was possible. When we couldn’t find the strength, he gave us a reason to keep going. He carried us through more than he ever knew.
He brought us to this place, changed our lives, and led us to a new chapter that we now have to find the strength to begin without him physically beside us.
It didn’t turn out the way we hoped, and it’s breaking our hearts.
But I keep reminding myself that Brickle’s life was never about a house. It was about what he inspired us to do with our lives. For fifteen years, we have dedicated ourselves to making rescues the breed of choice. We have traveled, volunteered, shared thousands of animals needing homes and tried to show the world what rescue dogs are capable of.
And even before we leave, we have begun building two programs that represent where we want our work to go next.
Fruitycake’s Pawcast: A Podcast For Dogs, By A Dog
We created Fruitycake’s Pawcast because we wanted to do something different for rescue animals. We wanted to give dogs something of their very own to listen to, with messages of encouragement, stories, sounds and conversations from Fruitycake’s perspective. But there is a much bigger purpose.
Every episode features an animal shelter or rescue organization as our Animal Helpers of the Day. Our hope is that shelters will play the Pawcast for the dogs in their care, giving them familiar, friendly voices to listen to while introducing more people to the organizations working to save their lives.
We want the Pawcast to connect dogs, shelters and people in a way that hasn’t been done before. We want rescue organizations to know they have a place in our work, and we want people to discover animals and organizations they might never otherwise have known about.
Please listen, share it with your favorite shelter and encourage them to play it for their dogs. You can also send us questions from your dogs for Fruitycake to answer!
Listen To Fruitycake’s Pawcast On Our Website
THIS IS…ME: Giving Real Rescue Dogs Their Own Voices
Our other new program, THIS IS…ME, was created because we believe every rescue dog deserves to be seen as an individual, not just another photograph in a shelter listing.
In a world where artificial intelligence can create images and stories that aren’t real, we want people to know the dogs we share are real, verified animals waiting for homes. We give them a voice by telling their stories from their own perspectives, showing their personalities, their circumstances and what makes each one special.
Every featured dog is verified through a real shelter or rescue. We include the organization’s information so people can adopt, share or support that animal directly.
Our dream is to grow this into a program that brings more attention to overlooked shelter dogs across America. But we cannot do it without sponsors who believe in giving these animals a chance.
Sponsor A THIS IS…ME Rescue Dog
These programs are not distractions from our mission. They are our mission evolving.Everything we have learned over fifteen years, including what we have learned here in Italy, is helping us find new ways to advocate for animals.
And that is why getting through these next eight nights matters so much.
We still have veterinary appointments for Fruitycake, packing, travel arrangements and the trip to Milan to sign the deed for the sale of our rustico. We are exhausted, and we are trying to get through everything while being sick.
I wish I could tell you we have it all figured out. We don’t. But we know what we want the rest of our lives to stand for.
We want to save animals. We want to create new ways to help shelters and rescues. We want to make the years Brickle and Digby gave us mean something far beyond the walls of this little house.
And we want you to be part of it.
Here Are The Ways You Can Help Us Through This Final Week And Into Our Next Chapter
Help With Our Necessities This Week
We still need food, heating supplies and other basic necessities while we finish packing and preparing to leave. MEDICINE. With both of us having been sick and the weather making everything more difficult, this help is especially important right now.
Help Fruitycake Get Back To America
Fruitycake still needs veterinary paperwork, health certificates and travel arrangements to safely leave Italy. Your help goes toward the expenses of getting our boy home.
Help Fruitycake Get Back To America
Help Us Get To Milan For The Closing And The Next Part Of Our Journey
On November 23, we are scheduled to sign the deed for the sale of our rustico in Milan. After everything we have been through physically and emotionally, we need three nights there to rest, recover and take care of this important final step. We also need to arrange a rental car to begin the next part of our journey with Fruitycake.
Your help with lodging, transportation and the rental car will make it possible for us to get through these final arrangements and move closer to getting Fruitycake back to America.
Help Us Get To Milan, Rest And Rent A Car
Join Our Patreon Family
For $5 a month, you can help sustain our daily writing, Fruitycake’s stories and our ongoing work for animal rescue. Patreon is especially important because it gives us a way to continue creating and advocating for animals beyond this difficult transition.
Wear Our Porch Light Shirt Or Enjoy The Mug
Our porch light represents the people who have helped us find our way through the darkest parts of this journey. We created these items as a reminder that encouragement can help someone find their way home.
Our 2027 Calendars
You can also support us through our calendars, one celebrating our time at Under The Crow and the other celebrating the journey of 2 Traveling Dogs.
Under The Crow Rustico Calendar
I know we have asked for a lot of encouragement and help lately. And I know everyone has their own struggles. Please know that every person who has helped us, shared our work, encouraged us or simply stayed with us through this journey has made a difference.
Over these final eight nights, I want to share what this place has taught us. The beautiful things, the mistakes, the memories and the truths that are sometimes hard to admit.
I want to honor Brickle. Digby too. I want to celebrate Fruitycake. And I want to leave this place knowing that even though our dream didn’t end the way we imagined, it wasn’t all for nothing.
Because Brickle didn’t bring us this far just to teach us how to live in a little house in Italy.
He taught us how much love can change a life. And now we have to take that love somewhere it can change more lives.
Thank you for being here for fifteen years of our journey. Thank you for helping us find the strength for the next part.
Eight nights left at the rustico. A lifetime of lessons. And a mission that isn’t finished.
Make Rescues The Breed Of Choice.
With love and gratitude,
Girl Person, Boy Person and Fruitycake
2 Traveling Dogs
P.S. If you cannot help financially, please share our rescue stories, tell someone about Fruitycake’s Pawcast, introduce a shelter to our THIS IS…ME program or encourage someone to adopt a rescue animal. We still believe that together we can save lives. And we intend to prove it.
