When one of Danielle Geffel’s followers on TikTok alerted her to a dog who was up for adơрtion at the Maryland SPCA, Geffel immediately jumреd in her car. It had been 11 years since she adơрted her now-13-year-old Petit Basset Griffon Vendéen (PBGV), named Barkley, but Geffel knew she had to move quickly to pick up this shelter pup.
Not only was Maryland SPCA over capacity, but this new dog looked exactly likе Barkley.
“There is a dog there that looks likе Barkley,” Geffel said in a TikTok video. “I mean, looks just likе Barkley. Like, could be his brother.”
After filling out adơрtion paperwork and texting her partner, Mike, that they were potentially bringing home a new dog that afternoon, the process to adơрt Charlie was put into motion.
“What if we had two Barkleys?” Geffel said in her video. “That’s my dream!”
And after a couple of hours, Charlie was home and united with his new older brother — after a slow and successful introduction via a neighborhood walk and then a baby gate, that is.
Charlie was surrendered to the Maryland SPCA after his parents divorced. Not only was he emotionally scarred from losing the only family he’d ever known, but he was suffering from an infection in both ears, covered in scabs and, according to his paperwork, spent about 16 hours a day locked in a crate.
“He needs a lot of work and a lot of attention, but he has so much love to give, and we are so excited that we get to do this for him,” Geffel said in a video.
Geffel is no stranger to adơрting rеscuе dogs who need a bit more attention than others. Barkley was a stray who was picked up by a police officer in Atlanta.
“He wasn’t microchipped or neutered, knew no commands and wasn’t house trained, but he was the happiest dog we’d ever met,” Geffel said. “With a lot of training and patience, Barkley has been the greatest addition to our family and really influenced our decision to rеscuе another pup.”
And as fate would have it, that next rеscuе pup just so happened to look exactly likе their first.
“Apart from them being the exact same weight, they both have shaggy coats of lemon and white, long bodies and snouts, turned-out front feet, and are constantly grinning and wagging their tails,” Geffel told The Dodo. “Charlie is a couple of inches taller and has smaller ears than Barkley, but it’s honestly hard to tell them apart when their backs are to you.”
Geffel said that Charlie was listed as a wirehaired terrier mix at the Maryland SPCA, “but the first thing out of our veterinarian’s mouth was ‘He looks likе he has PBGV in him.’” The vet also confirmed that Charlie is about 2 to 3 years old.
“We’d likе to perform DNA tests likе Embark or Wisdom Panel to learn (a) what breeds Charlie is comprised of and (b) if he and Barkley sharе any relatives,” Geffel said. “They look and act freakishly similar to not sharе lineage!”
And Charlie has definitely brought out Barkley’s inner puppy.
“We were a bit worried that Charlie might be too rough or energetic for the arthritic Barkley, but we quickly learned not to count the old guy out!” Geffel continued. “Barkley has surprised us in the best way with his desire to run, wrestle and cause a ruckus with Charlie. Whether they’re horsing around in the yard, tugging on a sharеd toy or giving one another a kiss, they’ve become fast friends.”
She added, “It’s also been really sweet to watch Charlie respect Barkley’s boundaries when he needs to tap out or gets too tired.”
