Hello, my name is Damian. Thank you for taking the time to read my profile. I was born in Argentina and came to the United States in the late 80’s when I was a 8 years old with my family. I have two sisters and a brother. Throughout my whole life I have always loved and bonded with many animals, dogs especially. Growing up, I had the privilege of having many different types of animals around me. Currently, I have 3 chihuahuas (14, 13, 9). My oldest, DJ (14) blessed me with three litters throughout his life (16 healthy puppies in all). I raised them all until I was able to find them good, happy homes. Of course I had to keep at least one (I wish I could of kept them all) so Monta (9) became part of my family. I also have a chinchilla that’s about 2 years old and a 75 gallon fish tank with 6 fresh water fishes. Before all these babies, I had Diana, a Chow/Shepard mix we got at the humane society. She was beautiful and a great athlete. She passed away when she was 12 years old. During that time, we also had two cats (Bello & Oreo) and turtle (Margarita). All animals I brought home and took care of. Oreo lived till he was 15 years old and Bello passed away at 7 years old from feline leukemia. All animals can be wonderful companions and family members. Dogs hold a special place in my heart because of how genuine and tender they are around people and other dogs . In order for your dog(s) to be happy, well balanced and live a long life they need 3 main elements: EXERCISE, DISCIPLINE & AFFECTION. The order in which we do these 3 elements play a role in the effectiveness of each one. EXERCISE- This is very important for all dogs no matter the size. Some breeds crave/need it more than others. The energy level of dogs varies but they all need/love to walk. Walking your dog daily would be ideal but every other day for at least 45 mins would be super helpful for your dog’s physical and psychological well being. Having a big house or backyard is not nearly enough for any dog. How would you feel if I kept you in your house/backyard for one week, two weeks? You would start to go crazy, needing to get out. The dogs feel the same way. Then, like a person, the dog will start to get frustrated, anxious. Anxiety for dogs can lead to agression very quickly (like it does for some humans as well). Digging, biting shoes, messing up furniture, accidents inside the house, running away, excessive barking are all signs of anxiety and frustration (not a happy dog). Exercising your dog helps them release all the energy they have and gives their brain a chance to relax and explorer the world like they would in nature if left alone. The walk for a dog is also a great way to build a strong bond/loyalty with your dog. DISCIPLINE - This does not mean hitting or yelling at your dog. It means setting good boundaries for your dog to follow and know who is the pack leader. The KEY to this is that you must be firm but calm. Dogs are aleays reading your energy, body language, emotions. They are super perceptive. You must center yourself so your dog can focus on what you want and not why you are upset or emotional. The dogs wants everyone to be well balanced. It very tempting to let small dogs or very sweet dogs do what they want when they want it. Believe it or not, dogs like to have boundaries. Without boundaries the dog thinks he/she is in charge and will start acting like it accordingly. For most dogs, this is very stressful because they will feel they have to look out for everyone in the home as a “pack leader” when in reality they don’t have any control in our environment. It’s important for the dog to feel part of the pack and not in charge of it. Your dog will not take it personal when you tell them not to do something or off the furniture. They will love you all the same if not more. AFFECTION- Dog loving time!! do what your heart desires. You can love them, nurture them, play with them any way you want. They love all your attention and energy. I could go into more details with these three elements but it would get too long. In the next section, I will talk more about my motivations to hopefully be working with many “pet parents” around the area. Thanks again! I’m in the process of starting my own dog walking/sitting businesses. Currently, I’m mainly focusing in getting as many clients that need to walk/exercise their dogs. I would love to do dog sitting as well if a schedule can be worked out. All My time and energy will be focused in this. I worked in Property Management for over 15 years. I worked in San Francisco providing low income families with housing and social work. I supervised five to six different apartment buildings. Most recently, I was working in Oakland supervising/managing 7 properties around Lake Merritt. I was making a good salary, got to meet many people, got to go inside many homes and help out families (and dogs). I still found myself unsatisfied and feeling empty. I felt like I needed to do something that made me happy and at the same time pay my bills. Back in November 2018, I resigned from my job and began to search for my true destiny. And everything that I know and feel has led me here. I’m single, I don’t have any kids and thank goodness no large debts (just my school loan, I owe about $6K). I also joined Wag to get even more experience dealing with different dogs/situations. I really hope we can work together so I can help you have a long, wonderful life with your family(dog), and in turn, you can help my dreams come true. Take care.