PETS ARE FAMILY

Three humans.Two four-legged angels.One family.

We’re Gabriela, Mario and Andrea. Together with Laika and Oli, we’re the family behind Scratch & Bark.

How it all began

Laika and Oli together on the sofa — Laika + Oli. The heart of it all.

OUR FIRST FRIENDS

It started long before the shop.

Before the name, the logo or this website, there were two childhoods and some very special four-legged friends.

Gabriela as a little girl, holding Toto — Gabi & Toto · A little brother with paws

A little girl, a village and Toto.

Gabriela grew up in a village in Spain, with a soft spot for animals from the very beginning. Her mum, Andrea, remembers the love — and the worry — whenever Gabi wanted to bring another little creature home.

Then there was Toto. He grew up alongside Gabi like a little brother, and has his own special place in our family’s story.

He also taught us that loving an animal means caring for them every day. And while Gabi was still little, it was the grown-ups who took on that responsibility.

So Andrea knew what those four paws would bring. There was plenty of love, but a few worries too.

Gabi holding an older Toto, eleven years after their childhood photograph — Gabi & Toto · Eleven years later. Still her little brother.In loving memory of Toto, who left us in 2022. Forever part of our family.

Mario as a child, holding Luna — Mario & Luna · A love that started early

From an island, with love.

Mario comes from a Spanish island, with an animal story of his own. In it there is Luna, the little dog in his childhood photo: his own early chapter in a life shared with animals.

When he and Gabriela met, that love was something they had in common. The family we are today brings both of their stories together: Gabi and Toto, Mario and Luna, and later, Laika and Oli.

But Mario’s animal world doesn’t stop at paws. Fish and shrimp have a special place in it, too. His aquarium is a little reminder that family comes in more shapes and sizes than we sometimes imagine.

That love is part of Scratch & Bark as well. Today our shop is for cats and dogs; perhaps one day there will be room for the underwater side of the family, too.

MARIO’S LITTLE WORLD

There’s plenty of love on the other side of the glass, too.

Gabi with Toto, Sharpi and Nala, in the photograph published in Pelo Pico Pata in 2013 — Gabi, Toto, Sharpi & Nala · A page from our family story.

FROM THE FAMILY KEEPSAKES · 2013

A love that was always there.

In 2013, Gabi’s photo with Toto, Sharpi and Nala appeared in the Spanish pet magazine Pelo Pico Pata. A little piece of our family history, and a reminder that her love for animals began long before Scratch & Bark.

The cover of Pelo Pico Pata magazine, issue 87 — **Pelo Pico Pata · No. 87**The magazine that shared a little moment from Gabi’s childhood.

Laika, our black-and-white girl, at home

AND THEN CAME LAIKA

Love at
first sight.

Laika changed our lives, and what family meant to us. Suddenly, there was a little girl with four paws whose happiness and wellbeing mattered just as much as our own.

For Andrea, that bond went especially deep. During a very difficult time in her life, Laika was there. Andrea puts what she meant to her into a few simple, heartfelt words:

“Laika saved my life.”Andrea · Gabi’s mum

So when we say pets are family, it comes from the life we’ve shared with them.

WELCOME TO THE FAMILY, ALIOLI

Even her name
was bigger than she was.

We wanted Laika to have a little companion, so we decided there was room for a bigger family. That’s when Alioli arrived.

We call her Oli, because she was so tiny that even her name was bigger than she was.

Now it’s Gabriela, Mario and Andrea, with Laika and Oli: three humans, two four-legged angels and a whole lot of love. One brave little family, learning to look after each other every day.