⊹ 𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗔 - A prefix of Greek origin, meaning: ‘beside,’ ‘near,’ ‘by’.

⊹ 𝗠𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗞𝗜 (may-rah-kee) - Greek: to do something
with soul, creativity, and love. A very strong desire to
do something but also the intense feeling of love and affection when engaging in a favorite activity.

⊹ 𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗔 𝗠𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗞𝗜 - To engage in a meaningful and creative activity motivated by love and affection for the one by my side. My Fawkes, the companion of my soul. This is all for him.

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What began in heartache and desperation led to success through determination and has now become enthusiastic satisfaction. Thank you all for being here, for supporting us, for caring about Fawkes.

Let’s back up a ways… The first year of Fawkes’ life (2018-19) I was intentionally unemployed for the purpose of being with him full-time. I dedicated myself to raising him, to our training and building our relationship. I’m not going to unpack the how/why of that right now cause it’s a whole story in itself. After that year I worked several jobs that didn’t last. Since those jobs fell through (2021) I’ve been floundering, like so many other people. That’s not to say I’ve been idly sitting around twiddling my thumbs. I have worked very hard at a number of projects and applied to dozens of jobs. But for reasons not fully known to me none of those things ever panned out.

At the end of 2022 Fawkes started showing signs of pain/injury in his hind end. We went to great lengths to assess the situation. After weeks of appointments and evaluations an x-ray showed us he did in fact have minor injuries to his back/leg that would become severe if we didn’t address them right away. So we did. We did everything and more. This was a costly journey that we couldn’t practically afford but there is nothing I wouldn’t do for my boy. Whatever Fawkes needs to be healthy and happy he will have, no matter what sacrifices I must make.

This is where the story of Para Meraki begins. I had been looking for work for quite some time without success. So as the bills for Fawkes’ rehab stacked up I started cleaning out closets, selling non-essentials to pay for the help he required. I pulled out some old craft supplies and made some (very crappy, looking back now) collars that I pleaded with this community to buy so I could afford our rehab bills. Because of the incredible people in this community I made and sold a few collars. There was far greater interest than I expected, the support we received was unbelievable - the dog community on instagram truly is something special. It was such an enormous relief to our situation I thought, maybe I could sell a few more collars while we worked through Fawkes’ injury. That way I could meet his needs and be able to stay home to care for him as well. I kept making collars, and you kept supporting us.

When our hard work succeeded and Fawkes was mostly healed, I began to reassess what I was doing here. Those of you who know me, know I try very hard to be purposeful about everything I do. I had to decide if I should quit Para because we achieved our initial goal. Should I go back to looking for a job away from home that I’d probably hate, decrease our family’s quality of life, and cause complications to the simple and quiet life we’ve aimed for? Or should I dive further in? I started thinking maybe I could do this well enough to maintain it as a full-time vocation. After significant consideration and conversation I decided to continue pursuing this surprising path. Para has taken on a life of its own and I’m amazed at how rewarding and fulfilling it is. I’ve started to envision more clearly dreams I scarcely dared to acknowledge in the past.

From the beginning the goal has been to take care of my beloved and provide the best life I can for him. That is what the goal of this venture will always be. Thanks to your continued support and encouragement I have the opportunity to achieve that goal in bigger ways than I could have imagined. Being able to be home with Fawkesy every day; being able to set my schedule so that although I work 10+hrs a day I can still prioritize his needs; being able to have a viable income from creating things with my hands that I deeply enjoy making for individuals who I have the pleasure of interacting with personally… These opportunities I simply cannot express my appreciation for.

Thank you for making this possible.
Thank you for purchasing our gear or sharing it with others.
Thank you for helping us provide Fawkes the life he deserves.
The impact on our little family is profound and we are forever grateful.