It has been 25 years since I took in my first dog. My life, my perspective, and my understanding of them has changed drastically since then. I can remember taking my first dog in 4-H dog obedience training where they had us train them with choke collars and jerking up on the neck. I look back and those times haunt me now. I remember walking my precious dog down the sidewalk on my street, trying to get her to sit next to me when we stopped. I was 8 yrs old. A lady in a car stopped at the stop sign yelled out the window at me, exclaiming she was going to call the police if I yanked on the chain one more time. That lady changed my life. I had no idea that what I was doing was wrong. I was just doing what I was told. I still have nightmares about my dog, and all the ways I treated her that were wrong, simply because I didn't see her as an individual person or recognize that she had feelings and emotions and thoughts about life, and about me! The next dog I took in, I found a book about dog training using only positive reinforcement, and I lived by it. It allowed me to shift my thinking and be open to understanding that dogs are so much more like humans than I ever knew. That dog is the one in my profile picture. He was the greatest love of my life because the more I understood him, the more I loved him, and the more I loved myself for actively pursuing understanding him. He changed my life. I lost him last year, but I am so thankful that I got to the point where I gave him the best life a dog could ask for in this world. He was a thinker because I allowed him to be. He was a joy to be around because he was loved and loving. He saved my life many times because he recognized when I needed him, and he would hug me out of the blue. We had a solid connection, and an understanding of each other. I swear he could read my mind. One day while driving cross country with him, I asked him to get my cosmetics bag out of my suitcase to get my eye drops. I was going to pull over at the next gas station, but since I packed in a way where I didn't want to open the hatch, I thought I would see if I could communicate to him and see if he was up for the challenge since he was already back there! He had never been asked or trained on this before, but we understood each other so much at that point, it seemed like a fun way to pass the time. It took him about 6 minutes to unzip my partially open suitcase, dig into it, and pull out my cosmetics bag and bring it to me! Since then, I worked with him on many fun and rewarding challenges to strengthen our understanding of each other, and he only got smarter and smarter, more independent, and more amazing! I made a small video of him doing some of the stuff that he loved to do. Turning on or off the lights, finding my keys, getting his leash, opening the fridge and the cabinet to bring me his treats when he wanted them.. He was amazing! Because of my experience with him, I immediately see the person within all animals. I watch them and take the time to understand their mental state. I do what I can to communicate to them so they know they are safe and in good care, while their family is away. Being in a new place with new people can wreak havoc on an emotional being. I can immediately see/sense/feel this in their behavior, and I will go out of my way to make sure they are as comfortable and happy as possible. This is the easiest about me I have ever written (unlike trying to sell my artwork) because I know myself and am confident in my abilities because I have proven, without a doubt, that I am an amazing animal caretaker!