I'm a lifelong pet lover and current PhD student who is sadly unable to have a dog at the moment and who misses having canine companionship, particularly on daily walks/runs. I grew up in MA in a house full of all kinds of animals (dogs, cats, birds, horses...), and currently have one cat of my own. I'm an experienced pet sitter, and have a history of working with senior pets and pets who have special medical needs, including those who require subcutaneous or intramuscular injections as well as oral medications. I started walking dogs (other than my family's) at age 8, when I got an after school job walking an elderly golden retriever named Friend. In the intervening years, I've been lucky enough to gain a lot of experience with a wide variety of dogs including large breeds (e.g. Bernese Mountain Dogs, German Shepherds, etc), energetic working breeds who need to run (e.g. Australian Kelpies, Border Collies), and dog-selective dogs. And although I love all dogs, I do have a particular soft spot for those shyer dogs who take a bit of time and patience to warm up to new people-- they remind me of the dog my family had for the majority of my childhood, and I'm always willing to take as long as they need (and as many treats as they need!) to win their trust. And as a cat owner myself, I'm of course also always excited to get the chance to do drop-in visits for cats!