Loving care for pets with behavioral & medical needs

My love for special-needs animals began with my first cat: a senior, partially blind Persian living with chronic illness and high reactivity. She taught me about the complex inner lives of animals and how they communicate boundaries that deserve respect—just like the rest of us. Because of her, my next pets were a senior Persian with kidney disease, a reactive Shih poo with end-stage cancer, and a senior, (initially) feral tortie from Georgia.

When working with anxious, fearful, and reactive pets in particular, I aim to strike a balance between hope for progress and unconditional acceptance. My focus is on helping animals move toward calmness—free of judgment—understanding that anxiety or fear-driven behaviors aren’t enjoyable for them either. I believe anxious and reactive pets need time and space to build trust on their own terms, and I’m comfortable sticking around for as long as that takes, staying closely attuned the whole time.

(New section 4/23- editing 4/24.)