With Much Appreciation! A Look Back at For The Pups in 2025 and What’s Ahead for 2026

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This year For The Pups was born. Inspired by our love for our three pups, Deacon (forever 14), Chloe (10), and Sebastián (3), and all of the love, purpose, and everyday adventures they bring us. For The Pups grew from this, us affectionately calling them “the pups”, donating from our business to pup causes, and wanting to do more good, into a cohesive effort and purpose, and a community. We realized that we could create something meaningful now, and didn’t need to wait for the “right” time or perfect plan. For The Pups has become a place where people show up because they care about pups and doing good, and because they enjoy being around others who feel similarly. Every part of For The Pups means more to us than we can ever explain.

Pups Dueñas, 2024 | Sebastián (2), Deacon (13), Chloe (9)

This year we’ve hosted volunteer parties (events) at Austin Animal Center, and they have become something we genuinely look forward to and such a source of fulfillment. Making enrichment toys, helping refresh pup tiny homes (places of relaxation for just them and their volunteer), meeting pups, and connecting with each other in person created this uplifting, fun space. We are so grateful for all those who have joined us for the volunteer parties and who have shared that they are looking forward to coming. Every message, every RSVP, every way that you support matters and makes an impact.

For The Pups Volunteer Party | November 2025 | Austin Animal Center

For The Pups has allowed us to cohesively focus our efforts and purpose. We began the process of forming For The Pups Foundation and are continuing that work so we can reach 501(c) non-profit status. We want to build something sustainable that can grow, support rescues and pup causes, help pup parents, and continue to make a difference.

This year also brought the launch of For The Pups Photography. Austin pup photography that’s pup-led, with every session helping to support local rescues and pup causes through For The Pups. We had our first donated session last month in collaboration with Maggie of Black Dogs ATX. We’ll continue donating a session each month in partnership with a local pup cause as another way to help to advocate and raise awareness for rescue pups and try to help them find their forever homes.

Portrait of a long-haired German Shepherd on a trail in Austin.
Zen at a Trail in Austin | Fall 2025 | For The Pups’ First Official Photography Client

The For The Pups shop also launched this year, at the end of November, with For The Pups hats. We’ll continue to add shop items that are small-batch and either designed in-house and made in partnership with a fulfillment partner, or handcrafted in-house through our business, Dolce Terra. We donate 10% of each purchase to a pup cause, and every purchase helps us continue our mission.

Sebastián and Our First Batch of For The Pups Hats | November 2025

We can’t look back at 2025 without sharing how deeply we miss our baby Deacon. On October 27th, we had to let our sweet Deacon go home. He was fourteen years perfect, and our sweet baby. His loving barks will forever be sweet music that filled our hearts and our home, and always will, and his love, and our love for him, are neverending. Us continuing For The Pups, is another way we’ll continue to honor him.

Our sweet Deacon, on my birthday in September of this year, about a week after he turned 14, so happily and proudly walking across the crosswalk on Congress with his Deacon charm to the “I love you so much” wall.

A Look at This Year, Our First Year

September 2025 | Austin Animal Center

We’re excited for what we have planned for For The Pups for 2026. We’ll continue to host our volunteer parties and are aiming to host them monthly on the last Sunday of each month. We’re also planning a For The Pups benefit vendor market in the spring, which we’re already dreaming up. Plus more collaborations with Dolce Terra, more pop up markets, and more ways to support rescues and the Austin pup community. As we move through the non-profit process, we’re excited for the opportunity for more donations and even more advocacy.

What We Have Planned for 2026

Franco | Available to Adopt and Ready for His Forever Home | November 2025 | AAC

With so much appreciation and gratitude, thank you. We believe in supporting however is best for you and how aligns with your life. Thank you for supporting in whatever way that is for you. Whether you’ve made it to a volunteer party, shared our posts, told a friend about us, or supported from afar, it’s appreciated. You help make the For The Pups dream possible.

We’re grateful, and excited, and look forward to continuing For The Pups with you in 2026.

To another year of pups, purpose, and community.

For The Pups, Always

Gina, Jorge, and The Pups