09/12/2025
Yesterday l lost my girl, Daisy. She was taken by the same disease (degenerative myelopathy) as her mom, Dani, only 11 weeks prior.
Daisy and Dani, mostly Daisy, are the reason I got into dog training. We brought Dani and her litter of 6 puppies into our home when the pups were 3 days old. I kept Daisy because I was worried about her being behaviorally euthanized if I adopted her out, she had very poor body handling and would become easily over aroused which would turn into some aggression. Her circle of trusted people was small as she reached adolescence due to her fear of strangers despite socializing her as a puppy.
Daisy was on different anxiety meds and doses through her life and we finally found the correct medication when she was 10. I wish I wasn’t afraid to switch her sooner. Strangers weren’t nearly as scary for her and she was overall happier. She finally had a really good quality of life. At least I gave her that.
She made me the trainer that I am. All of my clients hear stories about her because I talk about her to everyone! I applied to The Academy for Dog Trainers when she was only 18 weeks old after her trainer telling me to apply several times. I applied because I figured that I would learn about dog behavior, fear, anxiety, animal learning, etc, instead of having a trainer her whole life.
I can’t articulate how I am feeling as I’m still shocked. This loss is going to hit many times over. Truly, I lost a piece of myself.
Thank you to those whom took care of her vet care, training, and dog sitting. You were all a small select group of people.
Daisy, Nov 7, 2012 - Sept 11, 2025
