Dogs Rule

Recently, I found a blog that I had to add to my bloglines. I think the original reason I linked to it was because of the daily cards but anybody who calls themselves a "dog mom" and not just a dog owner (and is a scrapper) is cool in my books! So shout out to April and her Dog's Rule post for inspiring this post!

I have always been an animal lover. During childhood I begged my mom to pick up every stray we found... you can imagine that gamut of cats & dogs we had while I was growing up. I must admit we weren't always the best owners and I truly didn't become a "dog person" until I was in college, living in the all girls dorm at NSU. I whined all the time how I wanted a dog.. he could sleep at the foot of my bed and hang out in the commons when I was at class. He would be one cool dog. Of course this never happened...

I became a dog Mom on April 30, 2005 when Nick & I adopted Jack. He was the CUTEST puppy EVER. He made my heart melt and it will never be the same. He is over 120lbs now.. and when I look into his big eyes I still see that 5 week old puppy we brought home.

I must say that I'm not just a dog lover or dog person. I am a dog mama! I love my dogs. I would do anything for them. When I worked in the corporate world I used to get a 30 minute lunch break. Luckily, I only lived 5-10 minutes (depending on traffic) from my job. Every single day I would come home and let them out, sometimes not even having a chance to eat... just because I couldn't stand them having to be alone for 8 hours straight.

I hated my job. It was a really stressful position and I was at a really hard place in my life. That job didn't help. So one day I just quit.

Quitting was the most amazing thing for me. Even though I had no backup plan, which was stressful, I felt liberated. I could do anything I wanted. I took some time and thought about it...

I wanted to do something working with dogs. I wanted to be able to spend more time with my own dogs. The ultimate job would be being able to bring my dogs to work with me. Or having really flexible hours so that I could visit them whenever. I decided I would try and work for myself. I became a dog walker & sitter.

I have built up a good client base but I definitely have some clients that have become part of the family. These are dogs that I either see daily or who have just touched my heart.

H+P These are my girls. I walk them twice a day, six days a week. They have become family for sure. They're actually moving sometime around June which makes me very sad.

Perkins is the one standing up. Everyone assumes she's older because she has aged more but Henkley is actually her littermate.

Dinah + Gus I love walking these guys. I love large breeds + I love how protected I feel with them. And I have never gotten so many comments walking dogs as I have with these two.

Dinah is a little camera shy. I didn't get one photo of her looking at the camera!

Lilly She is new but has grown on me very quickly. She has separation anxiety which makes me sad for her but her daily morning walks are definitely helping.

I wish I would have gotten a better one of her face.. she is so adorable!! I love her little fox tail too! If you look close you can see the tip is white.. just like a fox!! She is so fluffy too!

Casey I walk him a few times a week and he has spent a few days staying with us recently. He is the biggest baby and such a sweet guy.

This is from when Casey stayed with us and he was recovering from surgery. Happy to report he is completely recovered and doing very well!

Duchess This is my Emma-clone. She acts and looks exactly like Emma which makes my heart warm. She is so silly I just laugh when we are playing.

Sad to report I forgot to get a photo of little Duchess.. maybe next time!!

I have/had many other clients.. these are just the ones I see most frequently.

***ETA: The pictures are up and they're not the best. It is hard to get dogs to stay still when they're on walks!! Look for a post coming in the near future featuring my very own pups****

Also watch Oprah today (Friday's Puppy Mill episode). Neither of my dogs are puppy mill puppies. They're not much better - both came from "back-yard breeders" I have since been educated and know better now. Our next dog will definitely come from a rescue organization. Aside from the way we got our dogs, we have been very responsible owners. Both Emma & Jack are spayed/neutered which is the NUMBER ONE THING YOU CAN DO FOR YOUR PET!!

I wanted to post some links. There is something we can all do. (Starting with spay/neuter!!)

Stop Puppy Mills
American Society for the Prevention of Animal Cruelty
The Humane Society of the United States