Today is POTS Awareness Day, and I wanted to show what this actually looks like at home. POTS is postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome. It’s a form of dysautonomia, which means my autonomic nervous system doesn’t regulate things like heart rate the way it should. A lot of it is invisible fro

He’s holding that stay like he’s never been stepped on. This is Sebastian. He’s a 5 year old German Shepherd husky, and he’s huge. Under a restaurant table, his tail or a paw always ended up sticking out. When he was my service dog, he got stepped on constantly. Eventually he started popping

The Haloweener Derby in Seaside, FL is the cutest Halloween Event on the Emerald Coast. Dachshunds, dogs in costume, a farmers market, local vendors, and a whole community coming together to raise money for H.E.A.R.T. Animal Rescue. This is why I love living along 30A! Send this to your favo

Your sign to book a dog-friendly stay in Midtown Atlanta. We stayed at the Kimpton Shane Hotel during our Atlanta dog show trip, and it was such a great home base for showing my friend from California around the city! 📍 Conveniently located near the Woodruff Arts Center and Atlantic Station,

We just finished our FOURTH dog show, and I think it’s time for an honest conversation. Everyone talks about wanting younger generations to get involved in dog sports, especially in conformation, but then you hear the things said ringside about other handlers and their dogs. You never know wh

They say fast cat is the gateway sport for dog sports people and they are so right. Unfortunately it’s a very expensive hobby, especially when you add a second dog. But it’s so fun to see how fast your dog can run! Nalu, my Australian shepherd, ran her first actual fast cat today and ran 23.95 m

Your first dog show can feel like learning an entirely new language. I remember how much I didn’t know walking into my first show, and how thankful I was to have a friend there who could help me navigate the little things that experienced handlers probably don’t even think twice about anymore.

Sometimes the biggest improvements come from upgrading your tools AND putting in the work to learn how to use them. I’ve been working hard on my grooming skills and learning how to get Nalu’s topline to lay flat. Between practicing my technique and upgrading my blow dryer, today’s bath and blow

Sometimes, it takes a storm to remind you just how much good there still is in the world. As we traveled home yesterday, we saw something that restored a little bit of our faith in humanity. Linesmen traveling from all over Florida to help restore power, cellular crews working to reconnect p

Sometimes loving your community means figuring out how to show up when it needs you most. Since Hurricane Isaias hit our little corner of the Florida Panhandle, I’ve been thinking a lot about the people and organizations who are going to need help long after the storm passes. These two rescue

We’re safe, the dogs are safe, our physical homes are safe, and we are so incredibly grateful for that. However, a piece of our hearts is still back home. All day, we’ve been watching photos and videos come in from the places we love most. Seaside, Alys Beach, Rosemary Beach, and the stretch

There’s something really special about taking your dog somewhere new and realizing they’re ready for more than you ever expected. Nalu has been to Disneyland, but Walt Disney World was a whole different adventure. Getting to experience it with her, alongside some of my favorite service dog team

There’s something heartbreaking about watching a place you love brace for a storm. These are the beaches where my dogs run freely, where we spend our ordinary afternoons, where we watch the waves and build a life around the little things that make living here so special. This isn’t somewhere

Before tomorrow’s bigger challenge, I wanted to give Nalu a chance to experience Hollywood Studios one-on-one. She’s done Disneyland in California, but Disney World is a different environment, and tomorrow, we’re adding four other service dogs into the mix. I wanted to know what she could han

If you’re evacuating because of the storm, please take your pets with you. They can’t make the decision for themselves. They don’t understand evacuation zones, storm tracks, or whether the power is going to come back on. They just know you’re their person. Have a plan before you need one:

Let’s hope I’m overreacting #isais #hurricaneprep #floridacoast #floridacoast

There’s something uniquely strange about watching the forecast and realizing the plans you made for this week might suddenly depend on the weather. I was already packed and ready to head to Disney with friends. Instead, I found myself making backup plans for my backup plans. Where will Nalu

I ran with my dogs last week before the storms hit and that means more to me than I can put into words. 🥹 This was my first run since July, when my mast cell activation syndrome attacked my lungs and completely changed what my body was capable of. For the last three months, I’ve been through mul

One year ago today, my puppy alerted me to my POTS for the very first time. 🥹 At the time, Nalu was almost 6 months old and just learning how to navigate the world. We were sitting at a coffee shop when we noticed she was heavily air scenting. Then she walked over to me, sniffed me, and then