ABOUT
Nice to meet you!
Hello, my name is Sonja, and I am the founder and manager of Dogs at Heart. I have been working with dogs for over 7 years and have a wealth of experience and understanding of our canine companions. My number one priority is the happiness and well-being of any dog who comes under my care and my continued dedication and development with dogs is at the heart of everything I do.
MY STORY
Walking dogs daily taught me more than I ever knew about these amazing animals...
My love of dogs has been with me from a very young age. At the age of six, my Mum sadly lost her eyesight, and over the years, I grew up alongside her three guide dogs, all of which I adored implicitly but I had fallen in love with dogs even earlier, when our family pet dog, Brock, had three puppies. I remember clearly how warm and exited I felt as my dad carefully handed me each one in turn to hold – so precious and so adorable.
Fast forward to 2018, and after the very sad and sudden loss of my dear Mum, I realised how short life can be and it was time to change my own working life for the better. I had previously worked in the city of London as a PA in marketing & events for over 20 years but what I really wanted was to fulfil my ultimate dream of spending my days working with dogs.
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2019 arrived and away went the handbags and shoes and in came the waterproofs, walking boots and 100’s of poo bags. Walking dogs daily taught me more than I ever knew about these amazing animals, and I now live and breathe them every day. I have taken teachings from one of the UK’s leading canine body language specialists and dog trainers Sarah Whitehead which have been invaluable and given me a plethora of understanding why dogs do what they do which enables me to guide and help them in a variety of situations.
I am a proud member of Kathy Kawalec’s Dancing Hearts Dog Academy whom I have so much admiration for having guided me to build an amazing partnership with my own three-year-old Border Collie, Sorrell. As well as behaviour, I am extremely passionate about canine nutrition and have helped many clients overcome some common health issues with their own dogs in a very natural and holistic way.
