My greatest pet joy and accomplishment has been being a father to Tulipa, a three-year-old rescue collie mix. My wife rescued her in Porto Alegre, Brazil when she was a puppy. When my wife moved to the USA last year, Tulipa came too! She has been a beam of joy throughout the pandemic, and has taught me so much about life and happiness! I grew up outside of Philadelphia with a beautiful, yellow lab named Hershey who passed away after I left for college in Pittsburgh. As long as I can remember, I have been watching neighbor's or friend's cats, dogs, and children! Over the past several years, I've regularly looked after several different dogs of varying shapes and sizes: my "niece" Ella, a mini pincher, and my "nephew" Charlie, a Cockapoo, both house-sitting and dog-walking as needed. The same goes for Cheeky, a good friend's Jack Russell. I'm finishing up my PhD remotely from the University of Texas in Austin in Iberian and Latin American Cultures, where I also teach language classes to undergrads. I'll teach your dog Spanish or Portuguese!!