Growing up, my family and I had two labs, Jake and Rio. My parents got Jake when I was a baby (only 1 month apart!), and we grew up together until we were 12. When I was in high school, we adopted Rio (6 months) from my uncle. I have so many fond memories taking care of and playing with them at our ranch and lake homes. As a kid and through high school, I took care of dogs and all types of pets for my neighbors, family, and friends for a couple of days to a couple of weeks while they were away. During college, three of my roommates had dogs (Sidney: springer spaniel/Australian Shepherd, Choco: German short-haired pointer, Agave: husky), and I helped raise and care for them while my roomies were away at class, parties, trips home, etc. I would help out with giving them potty breaks between classes, taking them on walks/runs/bike rides, and training them. After college, my parents adopted our current family dog, Mia, from a family in Utah. It took a lot to convince my parents to adopt her, but she has blessed our family in so many ways! She's so sweet, gentle, protective, loyal, the fastest runner, loves to play ball and swim, and she is a talker just like the rest of us. My husband and I have a 4 year old fur baby named Willow (an Aussiedoodle, Austrailian Shepherd/Poodle mix). She is a ball of energy, great with all dogs of any age and size, loves to play and run, and she is such a lover. We trained her using sign language paired with verbal commands. She loves to have play mates, and she would really enjoy having your pup over for a play date while you're at work or a sleep over while you're away from home.