My dream for my whole life was simple. I wanted to train dogs and I wanted to save homeless dogs from shelters and I wanted to learn everything I possibly could about dogs and make a positive impact on their lives and make a difference in the world of both purebred and mixed breed dogs.
When I was a kid I didn’t think I would ever achieve anything significant. I was abandoned by my birth parents and spent a lot of my developmental years in foster care. Unbelievable horrible and traumatic things happened to me and I had a lot of health issues. I was with a family for a while and it didn’t work out. My self esteem hit rock bottom and I just wanted to give up. And I didn’t think I’d ever even have a dog, never mind show them or train them.
My parents adopted me when I was a teenager. It was an instant connection and they really understood me.
I wanted an education. I finished high school as a straight A student and went to college.
Almost 10 years later I am still struggling through college on and off (mostly for social reasons) but I’ve accomplished so much.
I learned how to play the drums and got really good at it. I started making art and photography and designing things. I taught myself a lot of skills.
Most importantly, my parents had dogs, and I got my first two dogs of my own almost immediately after I was adopted. We adopted them too, and they were adult dogs, and Dogo Argentinos who are in the Pitbull family, so no one wanted them. But I wanted them. Coco lived to be almost 17 and Dante lived to be 14.
I started competing in dog shows and dog sports with my parents’ dogs and my dogs when I was in high school. At first I was inexperienced, not confident, and terrible. Lol. I lost all the time.
By the time I was 16 I was winning competitions a lot and my dogs were earning lots of titles. When I was 18 I moved up from Junior Handling into actual competition. It was scary but I learned to have confidence in myself and my dogs and we did really well.
I got my professional dog training certification a few years ago and I’ve been working with dogs and their owners trying to improve their lives. I don’t have good people skills lol but dogs make me feel confident.
Now I am able to live on my own with a bit of assistance and I’m taking care of four dogs by myself. My mental health is still struggling but I’m doing a lot better. My physical health has its ups and downs but I’m getting through it. I have a service dog (in training) now and I feel so much more alive. I don’t think I’ll ever fully get over the traumatic events in my life but I’ve learned not to obsess about it. And I’ll finish college when I’m ready.
Now my dream is to win the Westminster Dog Show. Probably unrealistic lol but the show is judging the dog more than the handler, and I have some exceptional dogs. I really hope I can make that a reality someday, even if it’s when I’m 50. But if that never happens I won’t be too upset because I’ve already accomplished my main goals.
