Hi! After a career as a teacher I have had the wonderful privilege of staying home with my three children and running Home Away From Home on a full time basis. We have been in business FT for 13 years. I am also a licensed dog trainer having graduated from the Animal Behavior College. I have also recently begun coaching with the local nonprofit group Unchained. At Unchained we train at risk youth to train hard to place shelter dogs for their forever homes.:) So I get to have lots of fun using my teacher skills with the kids and also being able to work with the dogs. I have also become affiliated with Peace Of Mind Dog Rescue and will continue to open my home for these elderly pups who desperately need to be provided a safe place to heal from neglect, abuse or years on the street. At our home they are able to experience maybe the only safety and love they've ever had in their lives. When your own fur babies are with us they have full access to our two story home and yard. They spend their time curling up in front of the fire on rainy days and lying out on the sand yard (it's like a beach) on sunny ones. Our "Dogventures" include heading to one of our multiple local beaches, hiking at Nisene Marks where we romp and splash in the creek, checking out the wonderful pools at Henry Cowell State Park, walking the path at Westcliff as we take in the magnificent sunsets and even heading down to Carmel Valley where we really enjoy hiking up to the top small lake/large pond at the top of one of the wonderful hikes at Garland Ranch Regional Park. Each of our guest pups tends to choose their favorite of my 3 children and each of my children chooses their favorite pup. My 17 year old son, Nathan, can most often be found with 1-3 different dogs in his bed with the small ones burrowing under his covers. My 9 year old son, Isaac, spends his free time "training" different pups. It's really fun to watch and certainly beats having an imaginary friend. Any my 19 year old daughter, well, she's decided that she's a cat person. She's over all of it!! All in all I balance the outside with the inside times with the outside and the high energy times with the low. The pups get plenty of time to lie around at, on or in a place of their choosing as I have non-stop work cleaning up after all of them and 3 kids to boot! I send out pics/clips throughout the day so that you can see what your fur baby is up to and I've even had a client schedule FT calls from N.Y. We provide both daycare and overnight boarding and we've even hosted pups for 3-6 months at a time for home renovations or trips out of the country. Recently I've started to provide wedding packages. Folks will board while they're getting married and enjoying the honeymoon. As many dog people out there want their pups involved in their wedding I have begun to offer a combined package where I bring the pups to the wedding (dressed in the couple's colors of course), assist them in joining the bride and groom up the aisle and then tend to them while they as they join their newly married parents for the picture taking that never seems to end...right? We then stay for the reception for a while to make sure the pups are included in those post wedding videos that friends and family tend to make. The pups end up in all sorts of pics with inebriated brothers, sisters and friends. So there you go. And I've begun to curate a wardrobe of dog wedding dresses and tuxes, tiaras and jeweled collars and leashes, Hawaiian and California sports wear so that the pups can be dressed up in style as they walk down that aisle. I even found dog tags that say "Maid of Honor". It's been quite the bit of fun. I currently only offer training for the pups who book daycare and boarding with me as that's all I can really fit in. I'll expand that in the future as the kids grow up and need me less. I love what my post teaching life has become and am deeply thankful that it has provided me with the privilege and opportunity to stay home and fully raise my three awesome kids. Id love to met you and your fur baby so feel free to give me a call. Seriously as you look to book please feel free to use the Rover number that you're provided to chat. I end up giving you my personal number anyways as I always want to hear from the owners directly about their pups. If time and location provides I also encourage you to schedule a Meet & Greet so that you can check us out and see our home and so I can meet your pup and get a feel for them. This is always the best option if you can do it as it really can set your mind at ease when you know where they are going and how they'll be treated before the first time you drop them off for the first time. O.K. That's it!