I have been obsessed with learning about animals (particularly dogs) since I was little, reading everything I could get my hands on. It came as no surprise to my family that my first "job" at 10 was volunteering at animal shelters, picking tics off of puppies and scrubbing out litter boxes. In high school I learned how to train service dogs and I started pet-sitting neighborhood animals shortly thereafter. In college I fostered dogs for various rescue groups while I continued to work as a dog-walker. By the time I was in graduate school I had become the local shelter's default medical foster; I was entrusted with medicating and completing physical therapy with post-surgery clients who needed to recover outside the shelter environment. I am very familiar with giving medication, watching for signs of distress, and caring for older animals.