The Barkmobile

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About the Image

Featured in this post is quite possibly one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen in SL! The Barkmobile, a collaboration between Aardvark and KraftWork for the current round of Kustom9, gives your Corgi the perfect way to travel—especially if, like Paddy, he has strong opinions about riding in cars.

The Barkmobile is copy/mod and includes a wearable, motorized bike created by KraftWork, with all seven bike colors included in each set. Your adorable Animesh Corgi companion comes in five fur color combinations and can even be given his own name. Other features include:

Cycling Corgi animations
Customizable helmet, bow, and goggles
Toggleable engine, bell, and barking sounds
A headlight that can be switched on or off

Best of all, you can actually ride the Barkmobile around SL, so you and your four-legged passenger can have adventures of your own. Stop by Kustom9 to check it out, and perhaps pick one up before your Corgi decides that ordinary transportation is beneath him.

As an aside, Aardvark is currently celebrating its 4th anniversary with a huge sale! Nearly everything in the store is 50% off, excluding items released within the past six months, sale items, and gift cards. You can even earn store credit on your purchases during the sale, making this an especially good time to stock up on all those adorable Aardvark critters you’ve been trying to resist. But hurry; the anniversary sale ends 31 August 2026.

While you’re there, be sure to check out the rather terrifying new group gift, which is sure to add a little something special to your Halloween decor… or perhaps your kitchen, if that’s the sort of household you run. Join the Aardvark in-world group with some of the Lindens you saved during the sale and pick one up!

Complete credits are below the story. Store and event SLurls are available on the Store & Event Links page.

The Story

Serena was halfway through deciding whether the dark clouds gathering outside were serious enough to cancel her afternoon plans when her phone rang. Gavin. She smiled and answered. “Hey. Aren’t you supposed to be busy saving puppies and kittens?”

“That’s actually why I’m calling.” There was something about his tone that made her suspicious.

“What do you need?”

“A favor.”

“Ah.” Serena looked toward the window. “That sounds considerably less romantic.”

Gavin laughed. “I’m completely swamped here. We’ve got two emergencies: Mrs. Whitaker’s cat has apparently declared war on the entire staff, and one of my regular clients just called about her Corgi. He’s been acting a little off today, and she’d really like me to take a look at him.”

“And?”

“She can’t bring him in herself.”

Serena waited. “So… I was wondering if you could pick him up for me,” Gavin continued.

“That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

“Sure.” Serena stood and reached for her purse. “Text me the address. I’ll grab my car keys.”

There was a pause. A rather noticeable pause. Serena stopped. “Gavin?”

“Yeah?”

“Why are you being quiet?”

“Well…”

She slowly put her purse back down. “What aren’t you telling me?”

“Paddy doesn’t ride in cars.”

Serena blinked. “Paddy?”

“The Corgi.”

“I gathered that. Why doesn’t Paddy ride in cars?”

“He hates them.”

“All cars?”

“Anything with an engine, apparently.”

“Your client called a veterinarian to make a house call because her dog refuses to get into a Honda?”

“No, no. You don’t have to make a house call.” Another pause followed, and Serena closed her eyes.

“Gavin.”

“She has a bicycle.”

“A bicycle.”

“With a sidecar.”

Serena opened her eyes again. “For the dog?”

“Yes.”

Outside, a gust of wind rattled the branches against the house. Serena stared out the window. “And you want me to ride this bicycle with Paddy in the sidecar all the way to your office?”

“It’s not that far.”

“Have you looked outside lately?”

“It’s supposed to hold off for another couple of hours.”

“According to whom?”

“The weather app.”

“The same weather app that told us it was sunny while we were standing in the rain last month?”

“That was an anomaly.”

“That was Tuesday.”

Gavin laughed. Serena did not.

Then he added, “I’ll owe you.”

“How much?”

“Dinner.”

“Not enough.”

“Dinner and dessert.”

“Keep going.”

“And I’ll do the dishes for a week.”

Serena sighed. “Two weeks. Fine, text me the address.”

Twenty minutes later, Serena stood in the driveway of a small cottage, staring at what Paddy’s owner enthusiastically referred to as the Barkmobile. It was, indeed, a bicycle with a sidecar—a rather impressive sidecar, actually. And sitting proudly inside it was Paddy, a cheerful little Corgi who appeared utterly delighted with the entire arrangement. He was even wearing a helmet and goggles.

Serena looked at Paddy. Paddy looked at Serena. “You have got to be kidding me.”

Paddy wagged his tail.

His owner handed Serena the handlebars. “He absolutely loves riding in it.”

“I can see that.”

“And make sure he keeps his goggles on. He gets upset if you take them off.”

Naturally.

Serena climbed onto the bicycle and glanced toward the increasingly gray sky. “This may be the strangest thing Gavin has ever asked me to do,” she muttered to herself.

Paddy gave one enthusiastic bark.

And with that, the Barkmobile rolled down the road.

Serena had to admit that, for the first few minutes, it wasn’t terrible. Paddy was an excellent passenger. In fact, Paddy was having the time of his life. He sat upright in the sidecar with his ears perked and his goggles firmly in place, watching the scenery fly past as though he were the captain of a very tiny motorcycle gang. Every person they passed smiled. One woman waved, two children shouted, “LOOK AT THE DOG!” and a man mowing his lawn actually stopped and gave Paddy a thumbs-up.

Paddy barked proudly.

Serena shook her head. “Oh sure. You’re adorable. Meanwhile, I’m doing all the work.”

Paddy appeared unconcerned.

The wind picked up as they reached the country road near the pumpkin farm. Autumn leaves swirled across the dusty track, and the trees were beginning to bend beneath increasingly strong gusts. Serena looked toward the sky. The weather app had lied. Again.

“Okay, Paddy. New plan. We are not sightseeing. We are going straight to the veterinary office.”

Paddy barked.

“And if your doctor happens to be my fiancé, you are absolutely forbidden from telling him I complained.”

Paddy stared at her.

Serena narrowed her eyes. “You look like a snitch.”

They were passing the pumpkin patch when a particularly strong gust swept across the road. Serena gripped the handlebars as a cluster of leaves exploded in front of them. She swerved hard, regained control, and pedaled harder. Then she heard it: a low rumble of thunder.

“Oh, wonderful.”

Paddy barked again.

“I was being sarcastic. That is not wonderful.”

Another rumble rolled across the hills. Serena leaned forward over the handlebars. “All right, Barkmobile. Let’s see what you’ve got.”

And they took off.

The first drops began falling just as Serena turned onto the road leading toward Gavin’s clinic. By the time she pulled into the parking lot, her hair was windblown, her legs were burning, and several leaves had somehow attached themselves to her sweater. Paddy, on the other hand, looked magnificent.

Gavin rushed through the clinic doors as Serena rolled to a stop. His eyes immediately went to Paddy, then to the bicycle, then to Serena. He tried very hard not to laugh.

Serena pointed at him. “Don’t.”

“I wasn’t going to say anything.”

“You were thinking it.”

“I was thinking that you look very cute.”

“You have five seconds to take your patient before I ride away and leave you both here.”

Gavin scooped Paddy from the sidecar. “Hey, buddy. Ready for your checkup?”

Paddy licked his chin.

“Traitor,” Serena muttered.

Gavin smiled at her. “Thank you, Serena. Seriously.”

A fat raindrop landed on his nose, then another. Within seconds, the sky opened. Gavin grabbed Serena’s hand and pulled her toward the clinic. The Barkmobile sat abandoned in the parking lot, getting thoroughly soaked.

Inside, Serena shook rain from her hair while Gavin handed Paddy to one of the technicians. “So,” Gavin said carefully, “about that dinner…”

“And dessert.”

“Of course.”

“And the dishes. For two weeks.”

“Absolutely.”

“And I pick the restaurant.”

“Done.”

She considered this. “And tomorrow, you return the Barkmobile.”

Gavin glanced through the window at the bicycle and sidecar sitting beneath the pouring rain. His smile disappeared. “Maybe Paddy will ride home in my truck if I put his Barkmobile in the back?”

From across the room, Paddy barked.

Serena smiled. “I don’t think so. Paddy doesn’t ride in anything with an engine!”

CREDITS

Serena

WINGS NL0510 Hair
Angel Eyes Messy 19 Hairbase
Glam Affair Lybra
Fashionably Dead Soft Girl Sweater
Fashionably Dead Soft Girl Shorts
Ohemo Daisy Sneakers Tartans