8 Billion Friends. 12-03-2024. Blog Entry 15.        Spirit’s and my mission in life is to make 8 billion friends. Our driving force in life is to become friends with as many living creatures as possible and to find the good in as many as it exists in. Every aggressive dog we meet is another opportunity to thaw someone’s heart. Every fearful person has one more mind to change. Every kid, cat, dog, or person is another chance for us to show the world that love exists. Everywhe

23.11.2024 The Choices we Make Blog Entry 14.        If someone asked me today about getting a service dog, the one thing I would tell them is that it is their choice. The choices we make always have consequences, good or bad.  Before you get a dog, understand what you will be giving up, and be comfortable with the changes you will have to make in order to build a new lifestyle. A dog is a lot of work. Most dogs need a good deal of exercise to be mentally stable companions wh

Our Way 11-22-2024 | Blog Entry 13 Before bringing Spirit home, I did a lot of research. Originally, I had considered training Copper. We even did an evaluation with a trainer who said it was probably possible, but in my heart I knew he wasn’t temperamentally stable enough for me to fully trust him in crowded environments if he were to spook. He was—and still is—an incredible dog, but if there is one thing a service dog must be, it is stable. Spirit has been attacked and has

17.11. 2024 Some Unconventional Values Blog Entry 12 Not everyone is going to understand how I show up in my life, and that is okay. I give Spirit as much freedom as I possibly can and have chosen to leave the online service dog community for the sake of her quality of life. While some may call this unethical, Spirit and I are established and known in our community as a service dog team. We have passed our provincial exam, flown internationally, and live our lives as a funct

Of all the amazing things Spirit adds to my life, her biggest job is that she is my #1 personal coach. Lazy day in bed? Not with the newest model of the Spirit2000 alarm clock! On those days where I feel like I’m doing nothing with my life, Spirit is my constant. If I’m stuck, I always go back to our routine. While I have worked on my own self-concept that I don’t feel like I’m doing it for her more than myself, there is still that level of accountability. Even on my sickest

I started this morning ready to write a blog post, it's been a long time and I have been BUSY. Between starting to train service dogs again to developing the Spirited Canines tech brand, there's little time to focus on anything else. When not working on developing a business you'll find me trail running, climbing, or running around town with Copper & Spirit making friends and memories. A lot has happened since my last post. I was going to Toronto, Quebec, Ottawa, and Squamish

08.08.2025 Kilometers, Kilograms & Clicks: Measurement, Motivation & Meaning.               In today’s article I want to talk about the training process, and more specifically the double-edged sword of measurement. I delve into my fitness journey and how I continue to face the balance in using measurements to sustain motivation, but the far deeper intrinsic motivation which derives from finding meaning in the journey. There are two sides to measurement. On one side, measureme

05.08.2025 The Moment it Dawned on Me: How I got here and where I'm going. I want to tell you a little more about my mission. In 2021 I...

21-07-2025 Dog Days of Summer – Making the most of every moment.                 Its been a month since I finished my successful thru...

08.07.2025 The vision behind Spirited Canines.                 These days, I can’t stop crying. For the past few weeks, I’ve cried nearly...

16-06-2025 Kilometer Zero: Reflections from the East Coast Trail.   As some of you may already know, Spirit and I attempted to take on the East Coast Trail a year ago. That's 350km along the rugged shoreline of the Avalon Peninsula on the Island of Newfoundland - a sparsely populated landscape at the farthest eastern edge of Canada. On that first trip, I packed up my bag and left solo, by foot, walking through flooded marshlands and across the highway to make it to the trail

What a journey it has been! I left dog training in 2022 to go to university in St. John's. In that time, I have had all kinds of...

08-30-2024 Blog Entry 3: Thinking About Getting a Service Dog? So, you are thinking about getting a service dog. There are so many...

04-09-2024 Blog Entry 4: The Wrong Metal: When it Just Won't Stick. It was our first week back on campus from summer break. Spirit and I...

Original Entry: 08-29-2024. Edited: 03-02-2025. Spirit gets sick, feeling ashamed, reflection. Blog Entry 2. As some of you may already...

27-02-2025 Estee’s Cafe, Running in the Rain, and Staying out of Trouble. Blog entry 24. I finally posted my first blog entry a few days...

Hello World – Blog Entry 1: 08-27-2024. Good Morning Party-People! Welcome to my new blog ‘The Girl and Her Spirit Dog’. To tell you more...