Hello! My name is McKenzie, and I am an animal lover, mama, wife, and fitness leader in South Bend. I have loved my own dog, who has now passed (old age and Cushing's Disease), and I now live with my husband, our daughter, and three amazing cats. We currently do not have a dog, because we were planning on having cats AND dogs... but when we adopted our first cat, Kovu, and then attempted to adopt a dog, we quickly realized that Kovu was not going to be happy in a home with a dog, but he was perfectly comfortable with more cats---and we needed to put his needs before our wants. So we grew our little family, just not quite in the direction we originally intended, and we love them to pieces. Our boys' names are Kovu, Louie, and Teddy, and you will find them in my pictures, along with pictures of my daughter, and other various journeys. Now, since we cannot have a dog of our own, and since I still miss my dog, Jack, very much from growing up---he was nearly 15 years old when he passed, and he was with me through some of the most prominent years of my life, and passed shortly after my husband and I were married---I look for ways to still be acquainted in the dog community, and to make dog lives better. It is *extremely* important to me that all animals know how loved they can be, and for those that already have a home, I want them to make more friends who love them, and for those who are seeking homes, I want to help them find them. Everyone deserves love. Since I was a small child, I have been involved with animals, because my mother organized and operated her own professional cattery that appeared at professional cat shows, so I know the ins and outs well of taking care of cats, medically and emotionally. But as I grew, I began to study how to take care of dogs, too, so that I could have a dog. Enter: Jack. Now, for the past seven years or so, maybe a little longer, I have been helping several neighbors, family members, family friends, and family neighbors, and their pets (dogs and cats), by assisting with home visits and house-sitting, giving walks, medicine administration (oral and injection), and catering to anywhere from the young to the elderly and special needs. I believe that every dog, every animal, should be well-loved and well-catered to, no matter their need or condition. Visiting with animals is always a highlight of my day, getting to see their sweet face and smile, spending time with them, being out in nature---it changes my day's perspective, because I feel in a way like I'm looking out on it and interacting with it through them, and it challenges me to get outside and walk and find new things to do to entertain them, and I love that about being with animals. Being with them truly brings out my best self.