5.0

I have a great love and respect for animals. Since I was a kid, I have lived and breathed animals - dogs, cats, birds, rodents and basically anything in the animal kingdom. I constantly had strays "follow" me home so my family could have a new household member to love and dote on. Much hasn't changed in the past 30 or so years and I absolutely adore having the company of new (to me) furry friends and being able to love on them as much as their family does when they are away. I've been a dog lover since I came out of my mother's womb and grew up with several family dogs. The first dog that I got as a young adult I had for 14 loving years until she got sick and I had to make the hard decision to end her suffering. She was a Hound/Terrier mutt that I had rescued after someone "threw her from a car" in a parking lot of a Kmart store. She was only about 3 months old then and quite the little hellion as a puppy. I quickly learned that having a puppy requires a lifetime of patience and that the unconditional love that they give in return is more than worth it. As she grew into a very sweet and loyal pup to myself and most humans, I also noticed that she grew increasingly unpleasant with other dogs. Trying everything to help decrease her reactivity to other dogs and having nothing help definitely made things hard. I could no longer take her to dog parks and I had to make sure to avoid confrontations while on walks. I admit that I was a little disheartened, I had always wanted a dog that could go everywhere with me, but it didn't make me love her any less and we just made do for the rest of her life. My second, and current, dog is quite the opposite. While she gets along with most other dogs, she is frightened by most humans. I rescued her at 3 months old from the streets of Taiwan which then led me to co-found Salty Dog Rescue. With my job of running the rescue, she was able to go everywhere with me...to home visits, vet trips, adoption events; etc. Having socialized her from the get go, I was hoping she would get over her fear of people, but it has never quite gone away. It's just something that is hardwired into her and I'm okay with this since she would rather go with Flight than Fight. It just takes her a few times of meeting and barking her head off at you and you're in. My best friend Tango and my bond with her and concern over the plight of abandoned dogs abroad began a path for me to become the founder of Salty Dog Rescue in Seattle. I've combined my devotion for animals and experience with rescuing Tango to start a rescue for abandoned, abused and neglected dogs. I have worked at a dog daycare and have years of experience dog walking. When I'm not working with one of my wagging best friends, I enjoy photography and capturing the world around us, hiking and camping with my own four legged friend.