I'm Christa and I joined Canine Adventure in September of 2009. I am thrilled
to have the opportunity to get local dogs out of their normal routine for some
fun and exercise!
Having grown up with Boxers, I am well experienced
with the high energy breeds and have developed a good understanding of the
challenges that these dogs (and their owners) face daily. I have two pit
bulls, Lily and Buddy, as well as a foster from Ring Dog Rescue. My pack keeps
my leadership skills strong. My work with Ring Dog and family pets has further
honed my skills with difficult dogs and taught me the value of patience and
vigilance when approaching challenging situations.
In my personal life, I enjoy hiking, swimming, reading, horses, and researching for ems (yes i really do
research for grins and giggles).
In my professional life, I used to be a Vet Tech
and Firefighter. I and am currently a Medic and am continuing my education in
this avenue. My experience has left me uniquely positioned to work with both
clients and their people to ensure that time spent with me and Canine Adventure
is rewarding and educational for both humans and canines.
If you'd like to know more about me, please feel
free to ask! I am also happy to provide personal and professional references.
About Lily
Lily has always been nicknamed my "throw away puppy". She is truly everything but.
Lily came from Ring Dog Rescue and was my first interaction with the group. I was told
she was abandoned in a dumpster and a man rescued her and got her vaccines and
vet care started but could not keep her due to his landlord.
Lily is part fish! This girl absolutely loves to swim and is really good at it! It didn't come easily, though.
When she was first introduced to the water, she was not so good at it.
Terry and I had taken her and Buddy to the lake at the forestry center to burn
off extra energy. She found a butterfly and gave chase. She was bouncing and
having fun. She also was not paying attention to where she was and chased the
butterfly right over the water. If you've ever seen the cartoons where the
character looks down and realizes he's going to drop, that would sum up the look
on her face. She sank with the water above her head. I died laughing. Terry nor
I could help her for laughing so hard. It took only a few seconds, but seemed
like forever and she turned around and got out looking like a drowned rat.
It took a few weeks for her to go back to water but she immediately took off
swimming like she had been doing it for years. She now will go to the ocean with
me and jump waves.
Lily is fun and loves playtime, but with some decorum. She has her boundaries and is good at teaching this. In addition to being an avid swimmer, she's also a great all around outdoor dog!
About Buddy
When we first rescued Buddy whose actual name was "Tater" he was scared of
everything. We also didn't like the name Tater but didn't know what else to call
him. My other half and I are very outgoing people and wanted a dog that would
accompany us to many places. With Buddy scared to death of everything, this proved to be challenging.
We had patience and slowly introduced him to things at his pace. While we did
this it became habit for us to cheer him on. "Come on buddy, you can do it." So,
that is how Buddy got his name. He started to listen to
it and it just stuck!
Buddy has come a long way! When we first introduced him to Petsmart, the only way to get him inside was in
the shopping cart. His third time in, he got out of the basket after we had been
there awhile and walked around. The fourth or fifth time he got out of the
basket as soon as we got through the moving doors. These days it takes a lot of
control to keep him from dragging us inside!
Buddy is my calm, relaxed, easy going guy that loves to just walk. He will bring
a calm attitude and show good examples of how to walk and listen. He likes to stick close and at home is a big couch potato,
but go for a hike or long walk and you've made his day. He trained Lily and has
passed on some manners to a few foster dogs that have come into our home and parted
ways.
