How our family came to be.
Eight years ago on a big green lawn that was crawling with little furry creatures, squawking and barking I laid eyes on arguably the most adorable puppy there ever was. Little did I know the journey this tiny huggable fur ball and I had begun that day. Eventually I came to name him Panzer, and in the last eight years we have only been apart a total of ten days.
Not too long after he came home someone had asked me if I was going to do Schitzhund with him, to which my response was “shits who?!”and thus a google deep dive ensued. After learning that there was in fact a club in town where I lived and even more convenient, they met once per week less than a mile from my house.
Panzer at 8 weeks old.
Long story short, Panzer and I spent the next three years training, competing and eventually earning a few titles in the dog sport that is now called IPO, and consists of obedience, tracking, and protection work. What Schitzhund gave Panz and I was so much more than just competition, it gave us a language and connection to each other, and the opportunity to meet amazing people and dogs along the way.
Upon moving back up to my home town of Santa Barbara, I began fostering for a Belgian Malinois rescue, The Woof Project. Through the rescue we (Panzer and I) were able to take in and find the perfect homes for two misunderstood Mals, until the fateful day I got the call asking if I would be willing to foster a 1 yo female out of a shelter in LA. Enter, Winter.
The first three days with her were a little difficult, she had some serious baggage, I questioned my decision to take her in immediately. It wasn’t that I thought she was irredeemable but I did not think I could carve out the extra time it was clearly going to take to get her over the hump and into a new home. Boy am I glad I pushed through those first few days, come the morning of day two we turned a corner so quickly and drastically it was like someone had flipped on a light switch, and by day three it was pretty clear I would become a foster fail, although I was still not willing to admit it.
By the end of the first month of having her in “foster” I made the decision to officially adopt Winter, aka Little One, and the three of us haven't looked back. Maybe one day we’ll work towards something like IPO, along the lines of what Panzer and I did, but until then we work towards extracting the most out of what life has to offer.
Sonny came into the fold via another avenue, a few years ago when the Panz and I were still living in San Diego my brother, Carlin, called me and asked what my opinion was on Australian Cattle dogs. What a loaded question, I coached him on the propensity for nipping and the continual training in order to counteract that instinct. We spoke about how hardy they were and how much energy, he wanted what the Pans and I had, he wanted a partner in crime, someone to go out romping in the hills with, and go everywhere and do everything with. I remember hanging up the phone and laughing, proud he was taking the step to find a buddy and laughing at the prospect of who he would find. Enter Sonny.
My brother had his hands full working with Sonny, coaxing him out of his shell and teaching him that he was no longer in Compton fending for himself, and teaching him what gifts the back country had to offer a couple of hooligans on two wheels. More than once when my brother went down to Mexico to race, Sonny would stop off with Panzer and I for a week or two. There wasn’t even a thought in my mind, when Sonny lost his partner, that he would stay with us full time, not even a nanosecond, he was with me that day, and has been with us every day since.
After training horses and people for a number of years, and helping out a few friends with their dogs along the way, I’ve finally made the shift full time to dogs. Please give me a call or shoot me an email, I’m here to help and look forward to helping my community enjoy all that dog ownership has to offer.
