I am a country girl. I grew up in a small village south of Ottawa, ON. My grandmother lived close by and one day she got a German Shepherd, Black Lab mix. He was a puppy and my Aunt named him Timber. My Dad and my Uncle potty trained him. He was an indoor and outdoor dog. My Dad built him a good dog house. Timber would come indoors at night in the colder months. In winter, he would come with us on skidoo trips. He would spend the day running and chasing after us on the skidoo through the cornfields behind my grandma's house. My Grandma and my Aunt walked him every single morning and night no matter the weather down the country road and back. Timber got into a dog fight and defended and protected me and my younger brother and sister from two neighbor dogs that came onto our property. One dog was a Rottweiler and the other was a Boxer. Timber got a cut on his nose. He liked to lay down on the floor next to grandma's reading chair in the evenings. Timber got old and passed away. At my Mom's we had a Rottweiler named Keila. Her mother's name was Elka. She would come to the lake with us and play in the water at the shoreline. She was an indoor and outdoor dog. We also had a fluffy, grey cat named Heidi. She was a farm kitten we took from my grandma's farm. She was an indoor and outdoor cat. She always stayed on or near the property and liked to catch mice and leave them at the front door. She was soft and cuddly. We also had a black and white cat named Oreo before Heidi but she ran away. As kids we would visit my grandpa on his 50 acre property and spend the weekends there. My grandpa had a team of 7 huskies. As a kid my cousins, younger brother and sister and I would spend hours and days feeding and playing with the dogs. They were mainly outdoor dogs and brought indoors at night during the winter. But they preferred to be outdoors. My uncle, my dad and my grandpa built them all dog houses close to the house. They were mostly off leash dogs until they started running away. There are bears and sometimes cougars and a dog got hurt once so we had to start tying up the dogs. They were still all walked around the property every day. When I was 15 my Dad bought me my own dog. I named him Prince. He was part wolf, husky and german shepherd. He was my best friend. I raised him since he was a puppy. He slept in a shoebox on the floor beside my bed and I remember him whining. My Dad and I potty trained him. He was an indoor and outdoor dog. Outside he was taught to stay on the property. My Dad built him a dog house lined with carpet and hay and a good roof under a big shady tree in the front yard. As a teenager after school I would take him for walks and runs down the country road we lived on, with cornfields on either side and little to no traffic. I would walk on the road and Prince would be running in the cornfield parallel to me. We would walk about 6km to the boat launch on the Rideau River. Prince would chase after sticks I would throw into the river and he would bring them back. As Prince got older he started running away for a few hours into the cornfield, then he would be gone for the day, then one time he was gone for two days and we had to start tying him up at his dog house when he was outside. We still went for walks to the river and back every day. During the winter, Prince would perk up his pointy ears and listen for mice running underneath the snow and pounce on them. On cold, winter days and nights I would lay on the floor with him in front of the fireplace, and lay my head on his side. He was like a big, warm, soft pillow. Prince is part wolf and he would howl at the sirens from the nearby fire department, we would howl together. Prince ate wet/canned and dry dog food mixed together twice a day. We also gave him food scraps like meat and ham bones, gravy and mashed potatoes, left over spaguetti noodles and sauce. Sometimes I would mix just spaguetti sauce with his dry food. At family holidays like Christmas and Thanks Giving he always got a plate of food. He also liked bread and butter, cheese and bread with peanut butter. Being part wolf by nature, Prince was protective of his food and growled and showed his sharp teeth if you put your hand near his food bowl. So we left him alone while he was eating. After high school I moved to Edmonton, AB. Prince stayed at my Dad's and I would spend time with him when I visited. Later on I moved back and a few years later Prince suddenly got sick and I had to put him down from a tumor they found on an x-ray. He was 11 years old. I am happy I was there for him in his last days. It was meant to be. He was my dog. German Shepherds, huskies and wolf dogs are pack dogs. They are very loyal and protective of their human pack families. I have experience in basic dog training like commands "Sit", "Stay" and "Down" and "Bad" and "No". I have experience in leash training dogs. My younger sister has owned two dogs that I have spent a lot of time with and helped take care of. She had a Beagle named Dozer. He liked car rides and barking and howling at squirrels. My sister used to take him for canoe rides on the lake. Her second dog was a Rottweiler named Malakai, Mally for short. Both dogs are passed away now due to old age. I looked after one of my grandpa's huskies at my home for a few months. Her name was Pluto. She had one blue eye and one brown eye. She was a sweet, shy, quiet dog. I owned a pet rabbit named Oreo who was black and white. He was indoors during winter and cold months and outdoors during warmer months. During the warmer months he lived in an outdoor playpen on the grass, not in a hutch. He was held and cuddled a lot. In winter he was kept in a large, similar pen that was cleaned daily. I started developing asthma from cleaning his pen indoors so I had to give him to a new family who had a proper outdoor hutch etc. to care for him. I was a foster volunteer for the Ottawa Humane Society from 2021-2022. I fostered two dogs in this time. My first foster dog was a white, long haired husky mixed with Golden Retriever. Her name was Aka. I would drive, and take her for long walks in the forest on hiking trails. We would spend hours in the forest in the snow. I know how to dress for winter from ski-dooing with my family. I would bundle up and take her for a walk in a winter blizzard. We loved it. She was later adopted by a Chinese family with three young girls. Aka has the perfect temperament for young children. She reminds me of the dog nursemaid 'Nanna' from the Disney movie Peter Pan. I cried like a baby when she was adopted. She was the perfect dog. The second dog I fostered was a Bernese Mountain dog named Benny. Benny was an anxious dog with an eye infection. He was taking anxiety medication and drops for his eyes. Sometimes it was difficult to get the drops into his eyes so I would hold a cold, wet washcloth over his eyes and try to squeeze some of the cold water into his eyes to give him some relief from the swelling and irritation. My Mom was a nurse, volunteer fire fighter and ambulance paramedic so I know some things about first aid and I've also taken a Pet First Aid course with the Canadian Red Cross. Benny's eyes later recovered and he was adopted within a few months. I completed a Fear Free Shelters course through the Ottawa Human Society - Training for canine foster volunteers. The course focuses on reducing fear, anxiety and stress during vet visits, making dogs feel comfortable while in a shelter. Understanding animal behavior, learning safe and gentle dog handling techniques and providing positive reinforcement. I have some experience with farm animals from hanging out at a friend's farm. I have experience hand feeding cows hay and giving head rubs. I have experience feeding farm cats and kittens. I have experience bottle feeding a farm kitten and a calf. I have experience cleaning farm kittens eyes and giving eye drops and changing their bedding in the barn. Currently I walk a clients dog free of charge after cleaning her home. She is an elderly Golden Retriever named Sheera. Sheera knows that when I come to visit, she gets to go for a walk around the block and through the park.