The Urban Dog & Friends

By Ernie Dogs
ernie@wonderdogranch.com

For People and Pets, Professionalism Is Important

The following column is the first from Ernie Dogs and has been dictated by him as his paws are not very good at working a keyboard.

My name is Ernie and I’m a professional dog. I go to work every day at a dog day care and boarding business. I am also a therapy dog, so I’ve been trained to be petted (that was pretty easy for me!) so I enjoy helping people feel good; I especially like working with kids in schools and libraries.  

I call myself a professional because I have worked hard to learn how best to help people, and I even had to study and take a test in order to get a certification — yup, I’m a card-carrying professional dog! And I’m licensed too!

Professionalism is important for me in a number of ways. Professionals know their stuff. As a dog, I have to depend on people to help me navigate all the crazy rules that people have created for living in cities. I have to trust people to keep me safe from zooming cars, to keep me fed, and to help me stay healthy and happy. Back in the day, us dogs were a lot more independent, but I figured out that being with the right people was a good way to live in modern times, and I want excellent care from people who know their stuff and know how best to work with animals. 

I learned that the hard way in fact: when I was young, I once ran away from some people who sort of kept me in their backyard. It was easy to get out and I listened to my wild side and ran off. It was a bad choice: after dashing thru traffic, I tried to be safe living in the woods – but no one would bring me supper, or read me books, or keep me warm at night… and there were bugs and skunks: YUCK! But I was lucky and was found by people.  I taught my people how dogs like to be treated and eventually they decided to build a business just to take care of dogs in the manner that I think dogs like best.  

Yes, my people became a part of the professional pet care industry – and that’s a big business — over $20 Billion in 2018 worldwide just for pet daycare and lodging. Add to that what people spend on veterinary care, grooming, pet food, training, and toys – wow! Big business indeed! 

Professional pet care isn’t a hobby or a part-time gig. True pet professionals study hard to master their skills, to develop safe and sustainable practices, to share knowledge and become expert in taking care of all sorts of pets and their people. Pet professionals help create a good community where pets and people enjoy each other’s company and enrich each others lives. I think Monrovia is a pretty pet-friendly community, but maybe there are things we can do better.  

What do you think?  Is this a good pet community? Can you rely on the pet professionals you use? My people like it when I “speak” so please “speak” to me thru my email and let’s start a good inter-species dialog. Woof!

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