Hello! My name is Mike, and first I want to thank you for taking a look at my Rover profile. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me, I will respond asap. I bring a high level of respect and love to dogs and our relationships with them. My goal when interacting with any dog is to provide the healthiest possible interaction, so I am cognizant of my body language, eye contact, use of rewards, and the tone and volume of my voice. My love of dogs started with our first family dog, Samantha (Sam for short) who was an amazing Rottweiler puppy when we first got her. I was 10 years old and spent every minute I could with her and became acutely aware of the strength of our emotional bond as we both grew up. I am still fascinated by the emotional intelligence of dogs, I think it is highly underrated and underutilized in our fast-paced stressed-out society. For example, I work with a local organization called ARF (Animals + Reading = Fun) that helps kids build self-confidence when reading out loud in their classroom by practicing with dogs. I also work with the only 100% no-kill shelter in Santa Barbara, DAWG (Dog Adoption & Welfare Group) to raise awareness of dogs available for adoption. My experience with caring for dogs is wide ranging, from pitbull puppies to special needs senior dogs that are basically immobile and need frequent care and/or medication. I am excellent at following specific instructions and very detail oriented, especially with any medications or special needs. Taking dogs on walks, hikes, to the beach, or to a park is one of my favorite activities and sharing pics of that experience with owners is another. You will be receiving plenty of pics of your dog having a great time outdoors (and indoors) when they are under my care. The physical manifestation of my love for dogs is a dog treat I created called 'Granola Barks'. They look similar to human granola bars and are packaged like a Nature Valley granola bar (2 bars/pack) and are made with only 3 ingredients. I created them because I couldn't find a treat that met my high standards of nutrition, and I noticed that my dogs absolutely loved them. I started making them for friends and family and decided to start a business around it when I received their supportive feedback. One of the unique attributes of Granola Barks is that I put local adoptable dogs at DAWG on the packaging and website to raise awareness about dog adoption. You can see our 5 rotating adoptable label dogs on our website, which I can send you a link to if you message me (Rover doesn't allow for linking to other sites). Having my own dog treat company differentiates me from the pack at Rover and is evidence of my strong love of dogs. It also means your dog will have access to a nearly limitless supply of healthy and locally hand-made treats :) Currently I live in a studio that does not allow pets but am planning to move to a place with some open land for dogs to run around and play, and then adopt a few of my own. I spend time at DAWG and go on walks with their dogs I so get my dog fix there for now :) Please feel free to contact me with any questions or to book my services. I am looking forward to meeting you and your K9 family!