This morning, as I read the posts on Twitter, I came across Edie Jarolim’s post “2009: It wasn’t so bad for me. How was it for you?” I thought it was a lovely idea for a post, so here’s my answer to Edie’s question. Please answer yourself in the comments or in your own blog!
We all hear negative news reports. It’s about time we focus on the positive! Ahimsa had a lot to celebrate in 2009. Here are 9 of the good things about 2009, for Ahimsa Dog Training and me, in no particular order:
- Ahimsa launched the Dream Dog program and (after some tweaking) people loved the flexibility.
- We continue to grow and improve. This year, Ahimsa taught more students than we’ve ever taught, in creative ways that we hadn’t used before. We got to make a difference in a lot of lives, both human and canine.
- In King 5’s Best of Washington contest, Ahimsa Dog Training was voted 3rd for the state, and the top dog trainer in Seattle.
- Ahimsa Dog Training ended the year with the same excellent staff that we started with!
- I went to an Association of Pet Dog Trainers conference and Behavior Adjustment Training, my system for working on aggression, fear, and other behavior problems, was a huge hit!
- I started grad school in Seattle for my second Master’s degree, which will be in animal behavior. That allows me the time to research BAT.
- My dog, Peanut, started visiting an assisted living facility as a therapy dog. He’s come a long way from the dog who barked at everybody he saw from 150 feet away!
- I was interviewed on NPR in Seattle, which gave me a chance to think about the choices in my life, including becoming a dog trainer.
Please write your own list! Let’s overwhelm the world with good news. 🙂
(Or as Edie wrote, “Spill it! Why didn’t 2009 suck for you?”)
