Animals have always been one of the deepest constants in my life. Long before Doggywalkie existed, long before I understood business or entrepreneurship, I was the child who felt endlessly fascinated by animals, behavior, emotion, energy, and connection.

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When you meet me, you’ll probably notice the snake tattoo on my hand. That story actually began when I was around five years old visiting a science museum, where I had the opportunity to hold a python for the first time. I thought it was the most incredible thing in the world. That sense of awe never left me.

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Over the years, I’ve worked with and cared for an incredibly wide range of animals — dogs, cats, parrots, cockatiels, turtles, rabbits, guinea pigs, llamas, alpacas, pigs, reptiles, bearded dragons, and more. My family’s Nicaraguan roots exposed me to animals constantly growing up, and I naturally gravitated toward them wherever I went.

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As a child, I was actually allergic to cats, but that never stopped me from sneaking outside to sit with neighborhood kittens anyway. My parents would find me quietly sitting on the curb with cats gathered around me completely on their own. Even then, I understood something that still guides my work today: animals respond deeply to emotional energy, safety, presence, patience, and intention.

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Emotional intelligence matters greatly to me — with both humans and animals. I believe animals are sacred in their own way, and if I am trusted to care for them, then it is my responsibility to learn everything I possibly can about them: their body language, fears, routines, stress responses, emotional needs, breed tendencies, medical history, triggers, comforts, and personalities.

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That philosophy is the foundation of Doggywalkie.

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I’ve spent decades studying dog breeds, animal behavior, communication styles, structure, and environmental awareness. In fact, my first deep dive into dog breeds began nearly 35 years ago when my parents refused to let me have a dog until I fully understood the responsibility of caring for one. I memorized breeds, temperaments, exercise needs, and behavioral traits before I ever had my own dog.

 

I’ve also been independently studying animal behavior, breed traits, communication, and care since childhood. Even at a young age, I was constantly reading, researching, observing, asking questions, and trying to understand animals on a deeper level rather than simply interacting with them casually.

 

That curiosity never stopped.

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I am naturally solution-oriented and highly observant, which heavily influences the way I approach pet care today. I believe understanding an animal requires both education and real-world experience — paying attention to patterns, body language, environment, emotional state, stress levels, routines, and individual personality.

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Honesty is extremely important to me in both my personal life and the way I care for animals. I believe in paying attention to what is actually happening in front of me rather than blindly following rigid ideas simply because they are popular or presented as “expert” advice.

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Over time, animal body language became almost like a third language to me. Animals are constantly communicating — through posture, tension, eye contact, movement, pacing, sensitivity, avoidance, excitement, stress signals, shutdown, confidence, curiosity, and energy. My role is to pay attention and respond accordingly.

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Because of this, I do not believe in fear-based or dominance-driven training styles centered around intimidation, forced compliance, or trying to overpower an animal’s instincts. I also do not believe animals should be expected to behave like humans.

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Dogs are still dogs.

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Certain breeds are genetically wired to bark, herd, chase, guard, observe, or react to movement and environmental stimulation. In many situations, I believe understanding and properly channeling those instincts is far more effective than attempting to completely suppress them.

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My approach is rooted in relationship-building, trust, structure, observation, communication, consistency, and emotional safety. I believe real behavioral progress happens over time through a strengthened bond, not through fear or rushed obedience.

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The goal is not to “break” an animal’s spirit into compliance.

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The goal is to help them feel safe, understood, guided, and more confident within the world around them.

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Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of being trusted with pets requiring more specialized, attentive care, including seniors and pets experiencing medical or behavioral challenges such as diabetes requiring insulin, seizures, hypoglycemia, Cushing's disease, arthritis, blindness, deafness,  heat sensitivity, cognitive decline, anxiety, and other sensitive conditions.

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These experiences only deepened my belief that calm, emotionally intelligent, highly personalized care can make an enormous difference in an animal’s overall wellbeing and sense of safety.

 

Before becoming a full-time pet care provider, I attended California State University, Chico, where I originally imagined myself building tech companies, launching large-scale projects, or developing applications based on ideas I pitched in class. I’ve always been highly creative, entrepreneurial, and future-oriented. In many ways, those qualities still exist in how I run my business today.

 

But somewhere along the way, caring for animals stopped feeling like “work” and began feeling like a calling.

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The families who work with me are often deeply attached to their pets in the same way I am attached to my own. They value emotional safety, consistency, structure, communication, intuition, and thoughtful care. Many of the pets I work with are not ideal candidates for traditional boarding environments. Some struggle with separation anxiety, leash reactivity, overstimulation, aging, medical needs, or simply require a more emotionally attuned approach.

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That is where I do my best work.

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Doggywalkie is intentionally small, private, and selective. I am a one-person business by design because I believe consistency, trust, and relationship-building matter. My pricing reflects the level of emotional labor, attentiveness, communication, observation, and presence I bring into my work every single day.

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I am not for everyone — and that is intentional.

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Structure, consistency, communication, preparedness, boundaries, and mutual respect are qualities I value deeply both personally and professionally. Because 100% of my energy goes into the quality of care I provide, alignment matters.

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The strongest client relationships I’ve built over the years have always come from shared values and a shared understanding that animals are family.

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This is not simply a service I provide.

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It is a lifelong passion, a responsibility I take seriously, and one of the greatest sources of fulfillment in my life.