About Me

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For me, animals have never been a hobby or a career choice. They have been a way of life from the very beginning. I have been riding horses since the age of six, the only one in my family with that particular passion, and that love has never wavered. My commitment to horses carried me to college in Kansas City, where alongside a business degree I earned an Associate's Degree in Equestrian Studies, riding both Western and Hunt Seat, competing regionally, and spending every spare hour in the barn. Cats have been equally present throughout my life, their companionship as essential to me as anything else.

After college, life pulled me away from horses for nearly two decades, though animals never left my heart. In the latter part of that time, I enjoyed working as a volunteer at the Marine Mammal Center, spending two years rescuing sea lions and seals along the central California coast. When I eventually found my way back to horse country, I acquired Matrix, a retired Morgan show gelding who was elegant, deeply sensitive, and extraordinary in every way. He was my heart horse, and it was through him that everything changed.

Matrix didn't respond well to traditional chiropractic work or massage. He tolerated it, but the joy simply wasn't there. I was introduced to a young woman who performed craniosacral therapy on horses, and what I witnessed in Matrix's first session stopped me in my tracks. He loved it, visibly felt better after every session, and showed me something I will never forget: he could feel my pain. When I was suffering through migraines or tension in my neck and shoulders, he would show the practitioner exactly where I was hurting. By working through my tension, he found relief too. The connection between us, between his body and mine, was something I had no words for, but I knew from that moment that this was the work I was meant to do.

I began coursework in equine craniosacral therapy, Reiki, and massage, and fell deeply in love with the connections that holistic bodywork created between practitioner and horse. I noticed over time that many of the horses I was working with responded far more openly to craniosacral and Reiki than to massage, and I let that observation guide where I focused my energy. 

I launched my first business, Heart Horse Healing, in memory of Matrix, who I lost under heartbreaking circumstances just as I was beginning. I worked with other people's horses for a little over a year, and when I felt ready to move forward, I found KC, a beautiful Saddlebred gelding who became my new partner in life and in the work. 

And then came my cancer diagnosis. Treatment made hands-on work impossible, and my business came to a halt.

Through all of it, my cats have been my anchors. I have shared my life with cats as long as I can remember, and my love for them is equal to my love for horses. For eighteen years, my heart belonged to Yoda, a soul cat who came into my life the day he was born. I held him as we said goodbye after three years of managing his kidney failure together, and the depth of that bond reminds me of everything animals give us and everything we owe them in return. 

Since the fall of 2023 I have been volunteering with a local rescue, Cat Crew California, fostering cats in need, including bottle fed kittens. What started as fostering has led to what those of us in rescue call "foster failing", and I went from two cats to five of my own, each one a foster with whom I've had a unique connection. My most recent and beloved failure is Gus Gus, a bottle fed baby I co-fostered last summer, who made it perfectly clear he wasn't going anywhere. These cats carried me through my cancer diagnosis surgery, treatment, and recovery with their unconditional love and daily hilarious antics, and I am endlessly grateful for each one of them.

During my recovery, I pursued additional certifications, broadening my scope to include dogs and cats, and reimagining what my practice could become. That reimagining became Equipaws Wellness. I won't pretend the road has been easy. I am currently still in immunotherapy treatment, and have an upcoming open heart surgery for a condition discovered during my cancer care, but I am resilient, determined, and have never been more certain of what I am here to do.

I am currently certified in:

• Animal Reiki
• Equine Craniosacral Therapy
• Raindrop Therapy (horses and dogs)
• Feline Bodywork, including massage, craniosacral therapy, and kinesiology taping

I am actively completing additional certifications in Canine Craniosacral Therapy, Canine Massage, Equine and Small Animal Aromatherapy, and Acupressure for Small Animals. These services will be added to my offerings as each certification is completed.

Every animal I work with is an individual. There is no one-size-fits-all session, no predetermined protocol that gets applied regardless of what the animal is telling me. I listen. I follow their lead. And I bring to every session the same reverence for the human-animal bond that Matrix first showed me was possible.

Whether your horse has been struggling with tension and behavioral changes, your dog needs support through anxiety or recovery, or your cat simply needs some gentle restorative care, I am here with hands, heart, and a lifetime of love for these animals.