I grew up in Campbell in an animal loving household with snakes, lizards, turtles, frogs, rabbits and the occasional failed feeder mouse or rat. I always had my eyes set on a dog of my own. My mother told me if I pick up our neighbor’s dog poop for two weeks (he had three terriers), we can get a dog. So that’s what I did and we got our dog, Keiko. It was love at first sight, but to my dismay, Keiko wanted nothing to do with me. She was totally uninterested in fulfilling my dream of having my happy go lucky best friend. (I later found out that is typical Pekingese behavior.) I was heartbroken, but I then realized dogs are a lot more nuanced and fickle than they look on tv.

         This sparked my quest into animal behavior, leading me to join our local 4H and start volunteering at ranches. As a young adult I attended UC Davis, worked many years for horse trainers, took volunteer opportunities and eventually found dog hiking. I worked professionally as a dog walker for over four years before deciding to start Wild Walks. While hiking dogs, I really got to hone in on what dogs need and how I can be a better leader for them.

         Wild Walks is where all my experience and devotion culminates to provide a unique atmosphere for dogs to run, explore, and learn to lean on their humans for support and guidance.