I am an active educator working with elementary aged students 10 months out of the year for the past sixteen years. However, I also have a special place in my heart for animals of all kinds. I have a particular interest and skillset working with dogs of all breeds, sizes, ages, and temperaments and have over 10 years of experience walking shelter dogs in my community. I have been passionate about dogs since I was a young girl, and when I finally got my own dog at the age of twelve, my desire to learn more about them and how to best care for them grew exponentially. Volunteering in the shelter environment, I have honed my skills in reading dog body language, creating safe walking environments, understanding and communicating health concerns, and handling boisterous, reactive, or fearful behaviors with calm kindness and care. Behavior is communication and I use my expertise as an educator to best care for and enrich the lives of the animals around me. I also adopted my own dog as adult from the humane society in 2018, who came with her own unique personality and behaviors such as reactivity, anxiety, dog reactivity, low confidence, and over-excitable drive. Throughout our eight years together, we have developed a strong bond and communication style that has brought her to achieving her Canine Good Citizen Certificate, and become a calm, confident, well-balanced dog. She also has learned how to communicate with me through augmentative and alternative communication buttons and express her personality in words I can understand which has been mind blowing! I love giving her the best life possible and I’m excited to support you and your furry friend along that journey as well during our time working together.