A Beginning

This blog is inspired by my friend Chris and her blog 100 Walks to a Dog. I'm hoping she won't mind that I'm totally stealing her idea and running with it. I also hope this blog helps keep me honest and gives me a reason to keep going, if only because I'm stubborn and refuse to let somebody else see me quit. 


I have many goals. Some of them are even realistic. The two I've decided to focus on this summer are: creating a happy/healthy body, and training Pepper to be a therapy dog. Maybe I should back up a bit.

From the beginning: My name is Kaylyn. I am almost 27 years old, and have been working as a civil engineer for almost 5 years. I don't write, actually I hate writing, but here I am starting a blog. Also, I have moderate to severe ADHD. I'm not using this as an excuse, merely an explanation as to my lack of writing skill. Anyway, back to my little bio: Three days after I graduated college I moved across the country to start my career 2,000 miles from my friends and family. I knew nobody within 1,000 miles of my new home. Therefore I got a dog. Pepper is, as far as we can tell, an English Setter x Brittany Spaniel x German Short-hair. In short: a mutt. A sweet, beautiful, happy, energetic, crazy mutt. She is also my baby girl. 

To make a long story short, five years later, after flunking out of puppy class twice and almost giving up, I have a very well behaved 55 pound puppy. She generally listens, walks well on a leash, and greets "new friends" (aka strangers) with kisses and requests for belly rubs. Pepper LOVES children and will lick them to death if given the chance. Nobody can meet her and not walk away with a smile. The only trouble is her energy level. She's exhausting to watch, and I cannot run or anything to give her the exercise she needs. She needs a job. 


Now, back to my goals. Like I said, I can't run. Doctor's orders (no joke!). I have bad knees, and nerve damage in my foot. I have a second foot surgery looming over me with the promise of six weeks on crutches. With that in mind, I want to lose weight and get healthy. I have an appointment with my doctor to get a second opinion on my foot. Maybe I can get physical therapy or something, I don't know. I also have an appointment with a personal trainer who has experience with working around injuries. I also have a second, more fun goal. I want to help Pepper become a Therapy Dog.





For those not in the "know" therapy dogs go to hospitals, nursing homes, and the like, and help healing by making people happy. It is well documented that owning a dog improves one's health. Well not everybody can handle the responsibilities of owning a dog, especially those who could most benefit from the healing powers of these furry balls of love. That's where a therapy dog steps in. These specially trained pooches gain entrance where no dogs are allowed. They spread joy and healing through puppy kisses. Pepper is a total natural!


That being said, she still has a lot to learn. For one, she is WAY too enthusiastic. She still jumps on people. She's friendly about it, but she is 50+ pounds of energy. She also doesn't always like to meet other dogs. Since this is a requirement of the AKC Canine Good Citizen certification, it is a must. There's also a handful of other little things that she just needs touching up on. Or maybe I should say *I* need touching up on. I'm sure 95% of her "shortcomings" are actually my fault, and not hers at all.


Now for the plan! The first step to a better behaved dog is more exercise. As Pepper gets no exercise beyond running around the yard, this won't be hard to do. As long as my days are, I have time to take her for a 15 minute walk every night. Incidentally, this will also help with my first goal. This is also where Peggy comes in. Peggy is my awesome, funky, animal-loving friend. She has blue hair, literally. Need I say more?


Peggy is a huge fan of Cesar Milan (aka The Dog Whisperer). I am too for that matter. Anyway, she loves Pepper as much as I do. And she is ALL about getting her to be a therapy dog. So she, being crazy and awesome, has offered to help me train her. And walk with her. A lot. We bought a book. And we have lots of plans. We'll see how it goes!


Anywho, that ended up being ridiculously long! I guess I'll shut up for now :)