Preparations

Hey everyone.

I’m honored you’ve come here to follow this journey I am about to partake in. Anyone who knows me knows I have been an animal lover my whole life. I have spent my whole life observing and working with animals, and am still learning on a daily basis how to do right by them. Most of what I have been taught, and the ways in which I typically engage with animals has been pretty typical, and yet often I find myself questioning “why” we may have this or that traditional “method” of dealing with a dog, or a horse, or otherwise. As I become more knowledgeable, and more adept at my own interactions with animals, and dogs in particular, my ultimate goal is always to be as fair and unobtrusive as possible, while still working towards the best outcome for everyone involved. That intention involves the human half too. If I am teaching a sport dog and handler team, or a pet parent and their dog with “issues,” I always want to communicate as efficiently, effectively and as kindly as possible, with all involved parties. And, I am forever continuing to learn that what dogs are saying, both to us and to the other members of their species, is the foundation of more effective and fair communications with them.

I first saw Sue Sternberg speak in person well over ten years ago. I was immediately drawn to her genuine enthusiasm for sharing her vast knowledge from her many, many years in sheltering and studying dogs. But of even greater interest to me, was her sincerity and extreme care for not only the dogs, but for the human part of the equation. She cares deeply about studying and observing dog behavior, and how to leverage that ultimately to strengthen the dog-human bond. Listening to her was like a breath of fresh air, and her bravery in speaking hard truths in the face of a very “traditional” crowd gave me so, so much respect for her. To top it all off, she’s both hilarious and humble, so that was the hook, line and sinker for me. I have “fan girled” since, and have learned so much from her over the years.

Fast forward to a few months ago, and on Facebook I see a post go by. Wait a second, what is this? Sue just casually throws out there; “Who wants to go to Mexico City to study street dogs? Anyone potentially interested?” I gasped, dropped whatever I was doing, and immediately replied, “yes!” I had no idea of the details, but I knew if I could make it happen I would. Details evolved, the social media gods somehow smiled upon me and I caught the application process in time. Then, again, the “loteria” gods made good, and here we go.

There will be about 15 of us meeting in Mexico City this Sunday. We will head to a town called Valle De Bravo about 2 hours away where we will stay for the week. We will be having lectures and video review in the morning, and then heading out in the afternoon to observe the street dogs in their natural habitat. There will be much documenting, I have no doubt, and more video I am sure than any of us will know what to do with. Except for Sue, she certainly already has hundreds of terabytes of storage for her infinite video archives.

Most people I have told about this trip are as excited about it as I am. To observe dogs in their truly natural habitat—not at a dog park, or in a daycare, or in an apartment, or at an agility trial—but in the street and towns that are their habitat, living just as they evolved tens of thousands of years ago, is an incredibly special opportunity that I could not pass up. To be able to go on this adventure with some of the world’s best observers of behavior is a fantastic privilege, and I hope to document it in a way that is useful and interesting to others! I’ll try to update daily, and even if I don’t manage to, I will surely make this the dumping ground for video and images and all things observation. And probably a little bit of Mexico culture too, I can’t wait to eat all the foods. :)

Wish us much luck and smooth travels!!!

.l