Featured Dog - Annie

Meet Annie. She just celebrated her first birthday! She is a Mini Aussie/Doodle. She's super smart, very affectionate and loves to carry sticks in her mouth when we walk.

I walk Annie 3x a week and do obedience training while we walk. She's a quick study and it didn't take her long to figure things out. She’s excellent at loose leash walking, sitting when I ask her to, waiting at the door and leaving things alone when asked. She is learning patience and self regulation which is hard for a dog so young. I'm patient though. She usually has to get some zoomies out before we walk and I'm ok with that. It helps her focus on her commands during the walk.

In typical doodle fashion, she is a bit of a clown and likes to make me laugh.

Recently, Annie got a hair cut and the groomer did an amazing job on Annie's face and eyes. The thing I noticed though was a change in her demeanor. She's a bit more confident and a lot more playful and I attribute this to the fact that her bangs are out of her eyes and she can see better. My dog, Mozi, has the same challenges and I have to make sure her bags are always cut short because when she can't see, she gets cranky and snappy. It makes sense because things startle her more easily if she can't see them.

Annie is living with a parent who has dementia, while her other parent works. It's not an easy situation, especially for someone as empathic as I am. I believe that Annie has great empathy as well and I can tell when her dad is having a challenging day just by Annie's behavior.

I feel fortunate that I am able to walk Annie 3 days a week, giving her a much needed way to expend her energy while teaching her new things and giving her parent some time to themselves.

While I don't know what the future holds for Annie’s family, I will do my best to provide an engaging walk for Annie and support her parents the best way that I can. We take it one walk at a time and enjoy each other's company.