I’ve worked in pet stores caring for many different species following specific feeding and cleaning protocols, while also maintaining knowledge on products pertinent to their care.

I then ventured on my own and opened my grooming salon where all pets, not just dogs, were welcomed. In a trade that is unregulated, I prevailed as a lifelong student personally committed to ever expanding my skills, incorporating state of the art equipment and using only the best quality products. I worked diligently to provide pets with a positive, gentle and personal grooming experience with both extensive knowledge and experience.

Throughout my career, I have worked with many dogs with special needs, but perhaps the most complex case of them all has been my own – my heart and soul dog – Sheepdog Riggs. The true inspiration at times for honing my skills, and restructuring my business in order to honour his legacy as Soul Dog Synergy.

In 2017, an 8 month long battle to uncover a diagnoses (officially a Hepatopathy with a secondary copper toxicity disease: micronodular hyperplasia, dissecting fibrosis and cirrhosis) of my “heart dog” – Old English Sheepdog, Riggs, forced me to focus towards my passion in nutrition. I was told many things from, “we don’t know”, “we can’t help you,” to “figure it out”, leaving me stranded with an ill dog. Though, as part of his treatment protocol, I knew lifelong follow up and dietary management was important. With only two board certified veterinary nutritionists in Canada, and neither one accepting new clients, and no veterinary professional who had encountered such a complex case, I desperately researched for help. Ultimately I had no choice but to start educating myself as I quickly enrolled back to school as time was of the essence for Riggs’ health. I started my journey into science based small animal clinical nutrition and I have not stopped. The more I learn, the more I learn I have more to learn.

I knew nothing about the disease. Nobody did. Riggs was my responsibility. We needed answers. How could this happen? I did everything right. I was determined to learn everything I could, not only so that I could make knowledgeable decisions about his care, but to find the right people who could help us.

Due to the rarity of Riggs’ issues, with the lack of support and knowledge available nor received at the time of his diagnosis and former issues, combined with my extreme interest and never giving up on him, returning to school was an inevitable decision (although scary). This education has helped me personally with understanding our concerns and has led us to where we are today. I feel confident that at the end of Riggs’ journey,  I did everything I could for him. He passed just short of 14 years of unrelated cause.

I am committed to lifelong learning and professional development in the fast-paced changing field of animal nutrition and the pet industry. It is of particular importance to stay current, as well as an opportunity for advancement.

I am proactive in continuing education as this asset greatly benefits my clients, as well as my fluency in my discipline to not only reinforce the knowledge already gained, but especially in the fast-paced changing field of animal health and science. It is important to adapt as our pet’s needs are ever changing, as well.  Though, as animals as my largest teacher, we have more to learn from animals than animals have to learn from us.

Animals are not just our companions, they’re are teachers, too. It’s important to recognize that our animals are our mirror in what we look like – that their issues become our issues, and our issues become their issues. Aspet owners, we want to recognize that our responses can create or exasperate diseases; the human-animal bond is a very real phenomenon.