I'm a gentle, kind, patient, and respectful caregiver. I have learned so much from each animal in my care throughout my life, and this learning will continue with all the future animals in my care.

My pet care experience as an adult pet parent/caregiver is 15 years, but I have been around dogs since I was a baby and have loved them all my life. This love extends to cats, and all animals really. I spent some time volunteering at the Alberta Wildlife Institute for Conservation (AIWC) and had so many memorable experiences helping care for, and feed the wild animals at AIWC (beavers, skunks, foxes, deer, owls, birds of all shapes and sizes, etc.).

But, obviously this a site for dog and cat sitting, so I will focus on that :). I am currently dog-less as my guy, Griff, passed away this summer. I miss him so much. I also miss having an animal around on a daily basis. I work from home and am a homemaker so I have a lot of time to dedicate to taking care of your pets.

I am one of those people who animals tend to like (as I'm sure most of the Pawshake sitters are). Often, I will get the comment, when petting a dog or cat that I've encountered, that "oh I've rarely seen my 'pet' react so 'happily'/'comfortably'/'excitedly' to someone".

As an adult, all of my dogs have been adopted dogs, so I've really learned how to read dog body language and I am able to adapt to each dog's specific personality and needs. I've had an adopted greyhound, an adopted lab/collie/pittie mix, and an adopted shepherd mix (my black wolf dog, Griff). My parents currently have two unfixed labradors (who I adore, and who adore me), and I grew up with golden retrievers. As a teenager I was hired to look after my neighbours' dalmatian and her newly born puppies, while my neighbours were on vacation; so, even as a teenager, I was trusted with this delicate task. As an adult, I have taken care of my friends' dogs when they need help: a chihuahua, and a german pinscher. I have also been around dobermans a lot when I lived in Montreal. All this to say, I know dogs - I know them well. One of my dogs, Farley, loved adults and was a big cuddler, but was anxious around kids. My Griff was not a cuddler at all, and had a high prey drive and guard dog instinct, but he also had the gentlest soul and was such a curious and alert dog - so good with kids. My greyhound, Asha, was just such a delight, and was respectful, and gentle, and playful, but also quite assertive. My parents labs, Oscar and Charlie, are your typical labs, and I just love taking them for walks and getting to see them. All such different characters!

While I have less experience with cats, I did live with a cat for a couple of years, as he was my roommate's cat. This cat 'Misho' was not a cuddler and was aloof with most people. I was one of the few people whose lap he would sit on. I have found this to be the case with cats who are typically averse to people - they will let me interact with them, and even will approach me for pets. I definitely respect their boundaries though and won't push myself on animals who don't want a lot of attention.