The story of how Katie got into dog training begins on a small, subtropical island just about 12,000 kilometres away:
Katie had just finished university, and decided to go travel the world. She set her sights on teaching in Asia, moved there on a whim, and enjoyed a successful life there for years. While there, she noticed the streets were riddled with strays and couldn't help but want to do something about it. She began scooping up strays off the streets, having them immunized and sterilized, then returned them to their 'hoods. She was always careful not to get too attached as she had already "inherited" two beautiful strays of her own...but one day she found Little Buddy.
Little Buddy had been seriously hurt by someone. No matter how hard she tried, he would never come close. Day in and day out for 3 long years she waited patiently for him to befriend her. She thought she had made great progress one afternoon, but when she went back to check the next day, he was gone, never to return- or at least so she thought. She was heartbroken and full off angst for several days thereafter as she thought he went up to the mountain to die alone and at peace. She waited in the same spot every day and was just about ready to give up when she saw Little Buddy come running into the parking lot that he had called home. He hadn't gone to disappear at all, he had gone to find himself his mate, "Mamma!"
Mamma was young, cute, and innocent as could be. She was an inexperienced girl and not the most street-wise. She came running straight over to Katie, who was more than happy to pat her, and it was at that moment that Little Buddy's trust in humans was restored. Time pressed on and Mamma's tummy grew bigger. The winter was coming, which meant cold, violent winds at times and nowhere to hide from the rains that would assault the small island each day; the puppies would die if unable to find shelter or stay warm. They needed a house.
And so it was; a house was erected- made of whatever could be found: doors, blankets, pallets and plywood. Little Buddy watched curiously as the girl nailed away on the planks and as soon as it was done, in the pair went- and literally the next day the puppies were born. Homes were found for all but one- the only girl of all the boys- the diamond in the rough- she was just like Katie. Sadly in the end, the young pup was taken from this world far too soon, and this prompted the move back to Canada. At that point, it was decided that Katie would dedicate her life to educating people about living with dogs and to help people with their pets.
Katie returned to her hometown of Riverview and started on her quest to help as many people as she could to learn better ways to communicate and interact with their dogs and so DOGMA Moncton began. She began walking dogs in 2012 and quickly learned to handle several dogs at a time with ease. Pack Walks were a huge hit for many years and helped to reintegrate several dogs who had some major aggression issues. After a few years of blazing the trails, the focus naturally shifted to group classes for puppies, obedience, agility, leash manners and reactive dogs to name a few.
Katie had just finished university, and decided to go travel the world. She set her sights on teaching in Asia, moved there on a whim, and enjoyed a successful life there for years. While there, she noticed the streets were riddled with strays and couldn't help but want to do something about it. She began scooping up strays off the streets, having them immunized and sterilized, then returned them to their 'hoods. She was always careful not to get too attached as she had already "inherited" two beautiful strays of her own...but one day she found Little Buddy.
Little Buddy had been seriously hurt by someone. No matter how hard she tried, he would never come close. Day in and day out for 3 long years she waited patiently for him to befriend her. She thought she had made great progress one afternoon, but when she went back to check the next day, he was gone, never to return- or at least so she thought. She was heartbroken and full off angst for several days thereafter as she thought he went up to the mountain to die alone and at peace. She waited in the same spot every day and was just about ready to give up when she saw Little Buddy come running into the parking lot that he had called home. He hadn't gone to disappear at all, he had gone to find himself his mate, "Mamma!"
Mamma was young, cute, and innocent as could be. She was an inexperienced girl and not the most street-wise. She came running straight over to Katie, who was more than happy to pat her, and it was at that moment that Little Buddy's trust in humans was restored. Time pressed on and Mamma's tummy grew bigger. The winter was coming, which meant cold, violent winds at times and nowhere to hide from the rains that would assault the small island each day; the puppies would die if unable to find shelter or stay warm. They needed a house.
And so it was; a house was erected- made of whatever could be found: doors, blankets, pallets and plywood. Little Buddy watched curiously as the girl nailed away on the planks and as soon as it was done, in the pair went- and literally the next day the puppies were born. Homes were found for all but one- the only girl of all the boys- the diamond in the rough- she was just like Katie. Sadly in the end, the young pup was taken from this world far too soon, and this prompted the move back to Canada. At that point, it was decided that Katie would dedicate her life to educating people about living with dogs and to help people with their pets.
Katie returned to her hometown of Riverview and started on her quest to help as many people as she could to learn better ways to communicate and interact with their dogs and so DOGMA Moncton began. She began walking dogs in 2012 and quickly learned to handle several dogs at a time with ease. Pack Walks were a huge hit for many years and helped to reintegrate several dogs who had some major aggression issues. After a few years of blazing the trails, the focus naturally shifted to group classes for puppies, obedience, agility, leash manners and reactive dogs to name a few.
