Ever since I was born, we have always had at least a dog along with other pets. My mother would bring in any stray and help heal it. I would be right next to her nursing and releasing baby bunnies, helping train neighborhood puppies, and anything in between. I help volunteer at shelters dog walking, would feed, bathe and let out neighbors pets as a kid. By 15 I was a managing a small barn in Pittstown outside of my school schedule. In high school, I was gifted a puppy who I taught hand signals to, he came with me to college, and now my fiancé and I use the signals to communicate with him as a deaf super senior. I also took my mom’s genes as we used to foster a variety of dogs before we adopted our 3rd.