About Autumn N. Ritchie

My obsession with dogs started early. As early as I can remember I was watching Animal Planet and any movie or show involving dogs ... Every year I'd check out the Encyclopedia of Dog Breeds and read it cover to cover. I missed a friend's birthday party to watch a dog show on TV once as a preteen. But as a child with undiagnosed and unacknowledged ADHD that grew up in a poverty stricken household with absent parents, I didn't have much opportunity to nurture this interest until I reached adulthood.

In high school for my volunteer hours I worked at a friend's mom's groom shop doing reminder phone calls and cleaning kennels. I didn't interact much with the animals but it was my first experience in the "dog industry". After a few positions in retail, customer service and food service, I landed a position at a dog daycare in my hometown. There I was trained with the Dog Gurus Knowing Dogs 101 and 201 video module series that is pretty standard staff training for dog daycares. After that position ended, we made the choice to migrate our family in 2015, which by that time included Camo and Chai, my previous female Aussie, to the Seattle region.

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In 2016, after working for a few different daycares, I ended up at a long standing facility in Seattle, and one of the services they offered was "Adventure Park". A supervisor and staff member would load up <30 dogs in a box truck outfitted with crates and drive them about an hour north to a rented private dog park. There we'd spend 2 hours just running around several acres, playing, practicing obedience and just enjoying nature, rain or shine. That service left a lasting impression on me and I've been hunting for that same feeling ever since. I've continued filling my resume with different dog daycares and grooming facilities around Seattle since then, learning what I could about handling dogs in a variety of settings and becoming an expert on reading dog body language, behavior and breed characteristics. 

We moved our family to Shelton in 2021 and acquired our two youngest Aussies, Rand and Xayah. After spending countless hours enjoying the quiet solitude of Mason County's forests with my personal pack, I just knew I needed to share this great resource with other dogs.