Welcome To Pet Pals

I am so excited to welcome everyone to our website and our new business, Pet Pals Country Club! Opening a facility that focuses on caring for our pets’ emotional and behavioral needs has been a long time dream I am proud to fulfill. I hope to continue making a difference in the lives of the animals and people I have the opportunity to work with.

Most of us have stories from our past about people, places, or incidents that helped shape us and our lives so I’m going to share some of mine so you can see how incredibly important this work is to me. When I was a young child , believe it or not, I and my siblings were developing a fear of dogs most likely due to a lack of exposure and the fact my mother is not “an animal person”. Ironic, huh? My dad, who loved animals, saw this and unbeknown to my poor mother brought home a beagle mix named Peanuts one day and said “Look what I got!” I was hooked. As a shy, introverted child I quickly learned who better to talk to, play with and share your secrets and feelings with than a dog? As a second grader I soon decided I was going to be a Veterinarian and never changed my mind.

Jump forward a few years and join me in my front yard where a stray dog appeared, scared and unwilling to come up to me but not running off either. With a box of Peanuts’ Milkbones in hand I spent what seemed like a few hours ( maybe it was only in kid time that long) building trust with that dog to come up to me. Finally when I had him on a leash and was so proud he was willing to trust me I got my parents whom I was sure would take us to the animal shelter where he would at least be safe off the street. Instead I was told no, I was to chase him off or they would do it for me. I love my parents and things were different back then but this was devastating to me. To have worked so hard to help this dog and earn his trust then to have to push him away still makes me sad to this day. I vowed then that I would help as many animals as I could never have to “feel bad”, sad or scared like I made that poor dog feel. And that is where I feel my interest in behavior and emotions of animals really began.

We love our pets as part of our family and want them to have a great life too. In order for that to happen we have to remember that they don’t speak our language, understand our customs, habits and behaviors, or know what we are thinking. Therefore the best gift we can give them is to understand their behaviors and ways of communicating so our relationship can flourish. That is what Positive, Non-Aversive ,Fear-Free Training is all about! Learning to work with our pets to teach them what we want in a way they can understand and with methods that encourage learning. With these techniques it becomes fun for everyone.

So I hope you will check us out, join us for a class, training session or call for a behavior consult. Or perhaps allow us to care for your canine family member while you are out of town. We would love to have you and your pal become a member of our Club!