What dogs have taught me:

My relationship with dogs, stems from my earliest life memories. When I was barely old enough to walk, my dog Joshua, a yellow lab mix, would accompany me as I wandered my neighborhood. He’d watch over me as I jumped into unattended pools to see how long I could hold my breath (lock your pools up people! lol), chase after every car the adults in my life put me into, and through his friendship, taught me the meaning of unconditional love.

My work with dogs started when I was between malaria supply chain consulting contracts in Washington DC. What I believed would be a fun side quest, quickly took over my life and I couldn’t of been happier. I was walking up to 20 dogs a day (only 6-7 at a time!), house sitting 3-4 weeks of every month, and meeting a variety of wonderful clients who grew my business through their generous word of mouth recommendations. Most importantly, as I was helping my community of clients love their pets, I was refining my craft as a dog whisperer. Every dog I developed a relationship with, taught me how they were emotional mirrors reflecting those closest to them. Every anxious or aggressive dog whose trust I gained, taught me how their feelings of anxiety and aggression were always rooted in fear. Every insanely excitable dog who didn’t know boundaries, showed me how enthusiastic they were to learn them, if I could clearly, firmly and lovingly, communicate. Every daily visit to the busy dog park with my happy pack of hounds, taught me the group dynamics behind how canines communicate, play, love, protect, and correct each other. Every time I sat a dog in their home, I had the fresh, unbiased start needed to modify a dogs challenging behaviors while their parents were enjoying their time away. Every puppy I helped raise, as well as every older dog who I gently carried on their last “walks” taught me how to appreciate the little things in life. Every published scientific article on canines that I read, hinted me as to how evolutionary ecology shaped our friendship, how their physical adaptations evolved facial muscles to communicate emotion with us through mimicry, what cognitive capabilities dogs developed to “train” us, and how they learned to literally smell our emotions through the chemicals our bodies produced. Every trip I took, I made friends with locals and their dogs, who taught me how canine wit and unconditional love adapted to our cultural differences (dogs in rural Colombia and urban Chile will always hold a special place in my heart!).