To be a dog-lover simply isn’t enough to be part of the Dawg Tired team. Our coaches are experienced canine professionals, dedicated to understanding canine behaviour, health and wellness. In addition to being experienced handlers, many members of our team are certified in canine massage, canine reiki and energy work, cranial sacral massage and shamanic work, and have years of experience fostering and rehabilitating feral and shut-down dogs.
Our team is truly an extension of the care and training you already provide your dog and we can’t wait to meet you and your four-legged companions!
Kim-Co Owner/Founder
Kim’s true passion is facilitating canine education and supporting every single one of our clients on how to help their dog be successful on their own terms. The beauty of our balanced packs provides an environment that gives her access to help each dog find their individual success. That may be walking off-leash without barking, or interacting with the pack in a socially acceptable way. After each walk, she can’t wait to take what she’s learned from each dog and share it with their owner. Empowering our clients with knowledge and the specific skills about their dog to continue making positive changes in their lives together is extremely rewarding for her.
Heather-Co-Owner/Founder
Heather’s favourite part of owning, managing and working here is the day-to-day challenges of working to build trust with dogs – our clients, her own, and the fosters that we look after. A lifetime of experience around furry and feathered pets has taught her that an ongoing willingness to become more educated about animal behaviour is a great tool to improve our skills and expand our toolbox of solutions we can use to support our clients. One of her favourite parts of this job is working with feral, shy and/or shut-down dogs in need of severe rehabilitation.
In addition to providing hands-on care during our day-to-day walking and boarding dogs, She also takes on many organizational tasks that keep our business running smoothly and ensure your dogs get picked up and dropped off on the right day!
her true passion is to help improve the lives of dogs – so you can find her working with our AARCS foster dogs, volunteering for the Alberta Spay/Neuter Task Force and being the voice of reason to Kim’s “jump-in now!” attitude 🙂
Kelly-Walk Team Lead
Kelly loves to be out and about with her furry friends exploring all the best dog parks of YYC. Growing up she had a black lab named Rosie who was very close to her heart.
Her animal obsession is not just limited to dogs as she has a soft spot for cats as well. For the past three years she has been fostering kittens through AARCS where she has helped to re-home over twelve of them, and that number just keeps on growing!
When not on walks with her canine clients, she can be found hiking, painting and checking out everything that YYC has to offer!
Marlee-Dog Walker
Marlee has always loved dogs, but discovered her passion for them when she was travelling the world with her husband Colin, where they both volunteered at numerous animal shelters. When she returned she decided that from that point on, she wanted to do something that she loved, which was working with and caring for dogs! That’s when she came to us and it wasn’t long before she convinced Colin that being with dogs for a living was the most rewarding experience and that he needed to join our team too!
Colin-Dog Walker
Colin is married to our very own Marlee Ryley, and like Marlee, he discovered his passion for dogs while they were travelling the world together on a thirteen month adventure, where they visited twenty-three countries in total. While staying on a farm in Scotland, he and Marlee had the exciting opportunity to help with delivering two litters of Newfoundland puppies. Staying up for almost three days straight to help with this process was an easy and rewarding feat for Colin and it was then that he knew that he wanted to work with dogs in one way or another. Colin believes that being around dogs is beneficial to our overall health and often finds that all he needs is a good ol’ face lick to get him through the day (but that pertains to dogs only:p)
On his own time he can be found playing guitar in his band, where he is also involved in audio production; travelling and skateboarding.
Janine-Dog Walker
Janine’s love of dogs started as a child when she developed a healthy obsession for the movie 101 Dalmatians! (didn’t we all?). Growing up, she always had a family dog, the main one being a black lab x named Lucky. Having him really solidified her love of dogs and she considered him to be more of a sibling than a pet.
To Janine, dogs are a necessity, man kind and canines evolved alongside each other and thats where they belong, together! That being said, becoming a dog walker was an easy choice for her as it encompassed everything she loved: Dogs and the outdoors! She loves observing the pups as they walk, play and communicate with each other and feels that she learns just as much from them as they do from her on a daily basis. Being surrounded by them makes her daily grind that much more rewarding and feel’s like she never ‘works’ a day in her life.
In her spare time she enjoys doing all things water related, whether it be rafting, swimming or paddle boarding; spending time with friends and family, reading, and taking her Pug Riley to the dog park with her fiancé, Steve.
Shawna-Office Manager
Shawana is the one who keeps everything here at DT running smoothly. She has always had an immense love for animals and has a little fur baby named Jax, a Yorkie who she rescued in 2012. He is never far from her side and can be found snuggled up under her desk while she works her magic and makes sure everything here is working as it should.
Heather and Kim approached her in the summer of 2014 to join our team. With little thought required, she accepted and at the end of November, she and her son Caileb packed up their place in Red Deer and excitedly set up house in Calgary. In December 2014 her journey with us began and she has enjoyed every moment of it since!
Caileb-DT Gear/Inventory Specialist
Caileb started with us in 2017 and has made it his mission to perfect the hands free walking system that our own walkers use today. He has it narrowed down to a science and makes all of our products for us in house with his own two hands!
He rescued his Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Albus, from the 2017 puppy mill seizure in Vulcan, who has been his little shadow ever since. You will never see one without the other!
On his own time you will find Caileb cuddling with Albus, gaming, and researching/studying any topic that may spark his interest, whatever it may be!