For Walnut Creek woman, ‘there’s no better job’ than walking dogs

After nearly three decades working in the transportation industry and becoming a safety, management and training expert, Michelle Heathman walked away.

Choosing to make a gigantic career shift, the Walnut Creek resident’s new job often requires wearing 200 pounds on each arm. The work space floor is covered in dirt, rocks and sticks, and none of her clients speak English, although all understand it perfectly. Weather is also a major factor determining Heathman’s days; “leave it,” and “let’s go, guys,” are two phrases her team routinely uses and follows willingly.

Heathman has become “Michelle the Dog Lady.” She spends working hours mostly outdoors, exploring the East Bay’s local and community parks, trails, beaches and other open spaces with a small troupe of dogs. Her services primarily consist of daily group dog hikes but extend to home visits, dispensing medications, nail filing, dog training, vet transport, “Doggy Dream Day” adventures, photo sessions and more (visit michellethedoglady.net online for more details).

“I worked on the customer logistics side for Esprit (clothing), then in the vendor sector for the largest stevedore on the West Coast, then in training and safety compliance at Pacific Maritime Association,” Heathman said. “I was always in that triangle of steamship companies, stevedores (companies that load and unload cargo) and longshoremen.

“I had begun to feel the industry was too adversarial, always filled with conflict. At the start of my career, it felt noble. I worked with amazing people with incredible ethics.”

Shortly after Heathman left Pacific Maritime Association, her dog died. She had grown up in Santa Rosa and recalls always having a family dog.

“We had a sweet little mutt, then a mini-poodle. Back in those days, a dog kept you company and going outdoors meant playing in the backyard, not long hikes in nature. As an adult, when my dog died, I hadn’t lived on my own without a dog for 24 years.”

With extra time available while healing from her recent major work-life change and pondering future career moves, Heathman began “doing a little dog walking here, a little dog walking there” for friends and acquaintances. She held a long, nearly reverential respect and connection to the outdoors and due to her work background was organized, responsible about safety issues and skilled at communications.

“I started getting referrals left and right. I realized I was never going to want to work indoors or around mean people again. I decided I’d just let this dog-walking thing continue and see what happened. Then COVID hit. I decided to keep walking dogs until I figured everything out.”

A move from Oakland to Walnut Creek’s Rossmoor district, a community for ages 55 and older, satisfied her craving for easy access to open space.

“There’s a sense of community in Rossmoor and wonderful arts opportunities, like learning ceramics, which I did do. Plus we have trails all around us. When (the) COVID (pandemic) hit, I could walk outside, see neighbors safely and still have distance. I actually closed (on) and moved into my home on my 55th birthday, the first day I could get in.”

As her business grew, Heathman defined and established policies that recognizably reflect and align with her previous work practices. New client evaluation sessions gather essential information about a dog’s temperament, training and special needs. Current vaccinations, flea and tick prevention and identification tags are required.

During three- to four-hour daytime outings with small, compatible groups of four to six dogs, Heathman avoids stickers and ticks, focuses on exercise, play and basic training and promises an hour of off-leash time. They have water breaks, and at the end of each walk, dogs are wiped down, checked for ticks and burrs and returned to their homes in her custom van.

“My van has crates for each dog and is air-conditioned,” she notes.

Important to Heathman and other professional dog walkers is not only respect for the comfort and safety of animals in their care but for nature and other people — with or without dogs — enjoying the area’s abundant open spaces.

“I’m a big one about ‘operate clean, leave no trace.’ Picking up after a dog is about safety for dogs and other people. Sharing the space we have the privilege to use means you don’t encroach on anyone else’s pleasure.”

Pet owners who let their dogs run up to or jump up on strangers often say, “My dog is just excited to see you” or “Don’t worry, my dog is friendly.” Heathman says those dogs and their owners could benefit from basic training, though. “I like a dog to come to me only when it’s called. I don’t want dogs jumping on me or running up to greet me. I might have 200 pounds of dogs on leashes on each arm. It’s not safe.”

For that reason, dog-walking professionals often recommend owners establish a firm behavioral foundation at home before venturing into community spaces.

“Basic manners count,” she says, “and most people want to know how to quiet their dogs, how to channel attention to something else when their dogs are overcome with excitement, fear or excessively stimulated. A broader concern is about off-leash dogs running away and not returning. She says the issue is easily addressed by practicing steady, release-and-return-when-called drills at home.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Heathman had 10 new puppy clients begin within the first 14 months. She is pleased to say none of those young dogs were returned or wound up in animal shelters or rescue operations that in are struggling now with record numbers of abandoned and never-adopted animals.

“I reminded people that those dogs they so appreciated for companionship and countering isolation would live 10 to 15 years,” she said. “They experienced the benefit and continue to enjoy it. I admit to some days having moments of impatience, but mostly my workplace has marvelous companions, incredible vistas, the scent of redwoods. It’s tough in winter and summer, but there’s no better job in spring and fall.”

When temperatures do drop or rainwater overwhelms the trails, shorter neighborhood walks suffice. On triple-digit days or when wildfires make air quality dangerous, there’s always the beach.

“Those fires in 2021 when the entire dog-walking industry was on standstill? The dogs and I were at the beach, where it was cool and the wind was clean,” says Heathman.

Lou Fancher is a freelance writer. Reach her at lou@johnsonandfancher.com.

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