Ashley’s Animal Care

06/26/2025

✨ Warm Welcome Wednesday ✨

Welcome to KCC, Francine!! This 2-year-old deaf bull terrier and I had a private training consultation tonight.

Francine has only been in her new home for a few weeks, but her guardian is making sure to set her up for success! Today we talked all about bridging the communication barrier between deaf dogs and humans, building positive associations with body handling, and capturing attention.

Francine and her guardian (and Ashley) will be joining for virtual training sessions going forward to help with some of the more complex behavior changes Franny’s guardian has been seeing recently!

This sweet duo spent a lot of time commuting to and from our session today, and we are so grateful for their dedication and willingness to learn 💖

06/24/2025

Just Ashley and Oso taking on the world together 🌎

06/23/2025

Hi, friends.

I am having a really hard time hitting “share” on my regular dog content when it feels like the whole world is on fire. People tell me to keep politics off my page, but my love for animals is political, my job is political, and my existence is political. Being a human being is inherently political and human welfare/rights will always impact animal welfare/rights.

So here’s today’s topic: EVERYTHING is political.

The house you live in, the gas in your car, the food on your table, the food in your dog’s bowl, the movies you watch, the books you read, the way you train your dog, the way you navigate life, the air you breathe - it’s all political. If you don’t think politics matter right now, then consider yourself privileged enough to be indifferent and please use your privilege to advocate for those who are less fortunate than you.

You don’t have to go to a protest to make a difference (although you can!!). There are other ways to be there for your friends, your family, your community, and most importantly, the people you don’t even know. Speak up on your social media platforms, share helpful resources, make a donation, educate yourself, and have necessary conversations with those around you. There are so many meaningful ways to be an active participant in the fight for change.

With that being said, please remember to take care of yourself. It’s okay to take a deep breath, to drink some water, to eat a snack, to get some sleep, to unplug, to let yourself feel your feelings, and to just simply exist. You don’t need to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders, and you definitely don’t need to carry everything all at once. We will carry this heaviness together.

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As always, here’s to a brighter and kinder future for us and our dogs.

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Oh, and here are some photos from this past week to make the world feel a little less scary, even if just for a moment 🫶

06/18/2025

Well… it’s official. I can’t push this post out any longer. Spoiler alert: it will break a lot of hearts, mine included.

AAC said goodbye to one of our very first dogs and I said goodbye to one of my very best friends, Odin. (He’s still alive!! Don’t panic!)

Let me just begin by saying… I was completely and hopelessly lost, until Odin found me. I had used all of my remaining strength to leave a soul-destroying job at a dog daycare and had just declined a wonderful job offer for a vet assistant position. I didn’t know what I was doing, where I was going, or who I wanted to be. And yet somehow, among all the self-doubt, I took the biggest risk of my life and decided to become a dog walker. Shortly after, Odin entered my life and I knew I was exactly where I was supposed to be.

Odin and his mom were some of my first clients (before the existence of AAC), and I will never forget the moment I laid eyes on him. I fell in love instantly, as everyone does. Odin quickly carved out a place for himself in my schedule, and the rest is history!! In finding Odin, I found myself. And for that, I am forever grateful.

Truthfully, AAC would not exist without Odin. Odin and Twyla have become the faces of my business throughout the years, and for good reason. Even people who have never met him love him… and I can’t imagine a more worthy dog of all that affection and admiration. Odin and I taught each other so much, and we got to grow and learn alongside each other, which was endlessly special. My world won’t feel the same without him, but he’s embedded himself deeply in my soul, and he will always be a part of my business, my journey, and my life.

Odin is currently en route to his new home, across the country, and I am so excited to hear about his and his mom’s new adventure! I have already seen so many wonderful pictures of them exploring the world together, and I am so proud of them for taking their own big risk! I couldn’t love them more if I tried.

I hope I get to see you again one day, Odin. You have changed my life in unimaginable ways and your love will continue to find me, no matter how lost I may be.

Here are some photos from our last two weeks together 🫶

06/12/2025

Walk and train Wednesday 💛

Meet Honey! This sweet 3-year-old golden retriever is one of our newer faces here at KCC. Honey joined our private training program in March 2025. She had recently been adopted, and her new guardian was looking to brush up on their loose leash walking skills, especially around the wildlife in their neighborhood. Honey soon joined our walk and train program to get some extra practice in!

Today, Honey and her guardian are confidently walking past the birds and bunnies in their neighborhood! Our current goal is to build confidence around other dogs. Honey has grown so much in such a short amount of time, and it has been an absolute joy to watch Honey and her guardian build their relationship and confidence alongside one another.

Honey is a ray of sunshine and as sweet as her name 🍯 I love watching her do zoomies in the sand, roll around in the dirt right after her mom gives her a bath (sorry mom!), and light the world up with her smile!

So proud of you, Honey!! 🐝

06/10/2025

I went on a wonderful, and much-needed, little road trip to the Oregon coast with my best friends 🏖️ I also got to visit Seattle for a day and see one of my favorite artists!

Thank you to all the clients who let me take a few days off to go explore the world, see some rainbows, spend time with my favorite people, and meet some cute dogs on the beach. I will be back to work tomorrow and will respond to your messages/emails as soon as possible (there’s a lot of them). In the meantime, here are some photos from the last few days ❤️

06/10/2025

❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

We are late to the game but HAPPY PRIDE 🌈

R+ training is all about spreading love, acceptance and kindness. We promise to always be a safe space for all of our two legged and four legged clients - no matter what!

From the bottom of our hearts, we want to thank you for being YOU!

We want to give an extra special shout out to for always being an advocate and spreading love to our LGBTQ+ community. If you need some extra positivity in your feed, please give her a follow!

♥️🧡💛💚🩵💜

❤️ 🌈