- Pet Care Experience: 10 Years
- Senior Dog Experience
- Special Needs Pets Experience
- Rescue Rehabilitation Experience
- Services Provided: Dog Walking, Drop In Visits, Check Ins
My name is Madeline and I provide professional pet care for Cloud 9 Canine!
Ever since I was a little kid, I have always loved nature: my mother couldn’t keep me from playing outside for hours. Her goal of making me stay inside to learn piano was doomed from the start, because all I wanted to do was play outside. I took this passion into college and got my bachelor’s degree in Wildlife and Fisheries. I have worked for the Forrest Service in the Black Hills in South Dakota and for the Department of Natural Resources here in Michigan, but my real passion is working directly with animals.
My sibling, Lauren, was the first one in our family to get a dog. Someone dropped a little Chihuahua/Dachshund mix into our backyard, during a New Mexico summer (which is very, very dry and hot). Thankfully, as soon as we saw him we immediately brought him inside and started caring for him. We were both in college with crazy schedules so I had no choice but to help raise this new puppy. I had no direct dog experience at the time so it was all new to me. He was the sweetest little guy and he completely opened my eyes to how incredible dogs are. I became very involved in his upbringing and training.
From then on, dogs became my favorite animal. I soon got my own dog, that my sibling found on the street (again during a New Mexico summer) and she was covered in ticks. It took me almost an hour to pick them all off her. She was a Border Collie mix (only a few months old) and her white chest was pink because of the bleeding. I took her to the vet the very next day and he said if her blood count had been a few points lower, she would have been bleeding internally. I worked very hard to get her back up to health. Even after everything she had been through she was still the most sweet hearted dog I had ever met. She does not have a single mean bone in her body. It showed me how trusting and loving dogs are, and I felt a hurt I had never felt before realizing that people could willingly be so cruel to such kind gentle animals.
I now have a Pitbull mix that we rescued from a shelter who had obviously been mistreated. My partner and I have worked very hard to make him feel safe and loved and show him he will never be in a situation like that ever again. It took time to gain his trust and for him to fully understand his past was behind him, but I loved every minute of it because I could see the change over time; him becoming relaxed and happy and learning how to be a dog again. I tell these stories to emphasize how seriously I take animal care. I became vegan a year ago and it increased my empathy and understanding of animals. Dogs are thoughtful, intuitive, and trusting creatures that want love and acceptance and it is my mission in life to provide that.
What I most look forward to with this job is making a positive impact on the animals lives and the humans lives as well. I want to bond with the animals in my care, I want them to be excited to see me because they know I love them and that they are safe with me. Seeing a dog that is obviously happy and living their best life fills me with so much joy. Seeing how excited and happy a dog is to see me is one of the best feelings in the world for me. Whatever dog is in my care would be treated exactly as I would my own dog: with love, patience, understanding, and respect. They are not property—they are companions.
Also, to anyone interested, I am willing to provide plant care, and I am especially fascinated by succulents, I think they are so cool. So, if you are interested in learning more about your plants and their care, I always find plant research interesting. I can help you come up with the ideal living situation for your plant so it can flourish as well.
I truly believe all life has value and the little things we do in life can make a real positive difference in the world. I will end on a quote from one of my favorite movie, Cloud Atlas: “My life amounts to no more than one drop in a limitless ocean… Yet what is an ocean but a multitude of drops?”