Blog posts about: walking adventures, enrichment, local shelter dogs and more.....

HOW IT ALL BEGAN~

Growing up in my big fat Irish family of 11 we always had a dog. My earliest memories are with our German Shepherd, Major, a police trained dog that didn't quite make the squad. But he sure had protective and guarding instincts, especially towards his large pack, my family. And I loved him just as fiercely.

I was always the kid bringing home a stray, finding feral kittens, and I once brought home some flea ridden chickens in my backpack from a local farmer's market in an attempt to save them from being eaten. Surprisingly, my mom let me keep them, Chloe and Clover!

So being passionate about animals has always been apart of my life. But I also was very passionate about education and was a teacher for many years before having my own family.

My son was born in 2005, we discovered at birth that he had a very rare metabolic disease that if left untreated would cause severe neurological damage. He was to be on a strict medical food diet and was monitored weekly with bloodwork. This was a very stressful time, being a new mom, sleep-deprived and I was incredibly nervous about my newborn's development. During this time, our dog Angus was such a loving support. Going out for walks with him, got me out and about and gave me some respite from worrying about my son 24 hours a day.

Although, with treatment my son was supposed to develop typically, he wasn't. All his milestones were delayed, he had trouble feeding and growing. Initially, his pediatric team thought I was just a paranoid mom. I was told many times to just, "relax. and enjoy my new baby." Later we discovered that he had another completely separate genetic condition in which he was missing a piece of DNA. This gene deletion was the culprit of his developmental lags because his metabolic disease was always well managed. But the irony of having one disease that if left untreated causes the very symptoms of your second rare genetic disorder. I just thought the universe was cruel during this time. I mean..I got better and did learn to accept this twist of fate, and the love for my sweet son truly helped me fight for him and to get through the rough first two years of parenting. As well as having a supportive and loving husband and the unconditional love of Angus. I even went on to have two more babies..both with the same metabolic disease, but without the DNA deletion, that are both" neuro-typical" and lively, spirited and healthy kiddos.

HOW THE LOVE OF ANIMALS AND VOLUNTEERING HELPED ME GAIN EQUANIMITY WITH FAMILY LIFE~

One Spring morning I was walking on a local dog friendly trail and I saw a group of people standing around a bush trying to lasso a couple of terrier puppies. I walked up and asked what was happening..their efforts seemed to really heighten the fear of the pups and so I just reached in and picked one up and held it close. Another lady followed suit and picked up the other pup. We both decided we would each check for microchips, and follow up with the shelter to see if anyone was looking for them, but we both knew that they had most likely been dumped.

The dog in the picture ( see below) is Muppet...the pup I found that day, I took him home, bathed him, got him checked for a chip (uh yeah-no) and brought him to our local shelter. Initially, Muppet was on a stray hold, he was so frightened in the kennel that he'd attack the kennel workers' shoes when they entered to feed and clean. So I'd go by everyday and sit with him with permission from the very compassionate shelter management.

And that was it..I said to myself this is where I want to be whenever I need a break from the demands of managing my children's metabolic diets, bloodwork, not to mention advocating for my oldest's education which was an ongoing battle of its own.

Eventually Muppet got adopted by a lovely Cal graduate student, and I went on to volunteer weekly: doing playgroups, mentoring new volunteers. and walking my favorite types of dogs: fearful, under socialized, and hard to handle on the leash!

Now that my kids are older and in school I am now walking dogs professionally and absolutely loving it. It's such a great balance to my ongoing shelter work to know people that truly want the best for their dogs. Exercise. outings. love and care are what I help to bring into their pets' lives. Pets..because I also enjoy caring for cats, chickens, and whatever else family pet needs care.

Thanks for reading this rather wordy ;) first blog attempt!

Muppet~ Here he is. This special little stray started my journey to volunteering at a shelter and eventually a new career in dog walking/ pet care.