About
“We need another and a wiser and perhaps a more mystical concept of animals. Remote from universal nature and living by complicated artifice, man in civilization surveys the creature through the glass of his knowledge and sees thereby a feather magnified and the whole image in distortion. We patronize them for their incompleteness, for their tragic fate for having taken form so far below ourselves. And therein do we err. For the animal shall not be measured by man. In a world older and more complete than ours, they move finished and complete, gifted with the extension of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear. They are not brethren, they are not underlings: they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendour and travail of the earth.”
-Henry Beston
Confession: I have a serious marvelous addiction to dogs.
It’s been going on since I was a little girl.
I adore all animals but dogs, well dogs make my heart go pitter patter at first sight.
When I was very young, I barricaded myself in a dog house with a wandering stray and told my parents I wouldn’t come out until they agreed to let me keep them. I didn’t win that battle but my passion for animals has not wavered.
Originally I had planned to be a Veterinarian and was taking science classes towards that end but after working at a Vet Clinic, where I had to hold dogs for euthanasia, it became quickly clear I wasn’t cut out for that kind of work.
I ended up becoming a Picture Framer and kept with that for a number of years. I enjoyed the artistic expression and there were no lives hanging in the balance.
When I moved to Portland, I decided it was time to get back on the path to working with animals. I found a job at a shelter ( that also did dog daycare) and worked there for eight years. I wound up adopting five dogs from there that nobody wanted and started my own little island of misfits.
My next stop was a dog training establishment where we facilitated small groups of dogs and worked on modifying problem play styles.
Following that, I taught Puppy Kindergarten and Basic Manners classes for another company while also working as a dog walker.
Currently, my interest has shifted to Private Training with an emphasis on fearful and reactive dogs.
I enjoy building their confidence and optimism and watching them evolve into happier, calmer individuals.
Along the way, I took a Dog Training/Behavior Modification course of study with the leading Veterinary Behaviorist Tom Mitchell and award-winning dog trainer Laura Langman.
Currently, I’m taking Kim Brophey’s Family Dog Mediation course which takes a deep dive into all the elements that drive an animal’s behavior ( L.E.G.S….learning, environment, genetics, self.) The course is also reexamining and questioning prevailing philosophies of the dog training industry. I highly recommend Kim Brophey’s book “Meet Your Dog”!
My eventual goal is to become a Licensed Family Dog Mediator that focuses less on traditional obedience training and more on teaching dogs practical life skills that will help them fit better into our human world.
When not walking or training dogs, I love to hang out with my bestie dog and crow friends.
And record and play music (my other passion.)