Dogs are the best people! I grew up in Southwest Virginia on a working farm/commercial dog boarding kennel and spent the past two winters working as a dog mushing tour guide in Alaska and Wyoming. I am very familiar with dog behavior, training, feeding, and health needs, including keeping up training routines, monitoring for health issues, and giving medications. I am sensitive and attentive to details. I understand that all animals have unique personalities and needs and I am willing and able to learn about each animal in order to ensure the time it spends with me is positive. When I was a child, my mother bred border collies on my family's farm in Southwest Virginia and operated a dog boarding, grooming, and obedience training facility. I was basically raised by dogs. In later years, I helped my family care for several pet/farm dogs, cats, pigs, chickens, and a horse. Additionally, I have worked as a professional dog mushing guide and handler for the past two winters. I just finished a season working in Alaska as a handler for a world-class long-distance musher. While he and his team were off running thousand-mile races, I was the sole individual on their remote, off-grid property, responsible for the feeding and care of 30 dogs, a variety of chickens, ducks, and geese, three reindeer, and a cat for up to two weeks at a time. I am currently on Kaua'i to attend massage school. I can't wait to meet your animal friends and family!