Maddie and her cat Itsy
Welcome back to the Unleashed Blog! This month, we're excited to shine our spotlight on Maddie! Since joining the Off Leash MKE team in June 2024, Maddie has been a dedicated friend to our furry clients, bringing her warmth and fun energy to every home visit, pack play, and adventure! With a lifelong love for animals, Maddie’s journey into pet care was inspired by childhood days spent with her godmother's rescue cats and a passion for wildlife sparked by heroes like Steve Irwin. Continue reading to get to know the fun, hard-working person behind the leash!
Q: Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how long you've been a part of our team?
A: I’ve loved animals my entire life - I don’t think any particular event created that love, it was just naturally there. I was lucky that my mom and I lived next door to my godmother, who runs a cat rescue, and she always had lots of cats running around her yard and in her house. As I grew up, I started watching Animal Planet on TV, and I immediately loved Steve Irwin and Jeff Corwin. Watching their love for wild animals reinforced my love for them as well, and to this day I still think of them as my biggest influences and inspiration for my later in life love for environmental and species conservation. I wanted to be a veterinarian growing up, but admittedly I was not good enough at math and chemistry to pursue that career, so I decided that in the end, I am happy working with animals in any way, big or small. I studied Psychology in college, and minored in Conservation and Environmental Science (those chemistry and math requirements foiling me again!). Nevertheless, I persisted.
During that time I started dog walking and quickly fell in love with it as a profession. Funnily enough, I didn’t even own a dog at this time - I only had cats growing up and didn’t get my first dog until 2021. I also got into the doggy daycare scene after the pandemic in 2020, and I learned so much at both facilities I worked at - I've been putting those skills to good use since joining the Off Leash MKE team in June '24!
Q: Share a memorable or heartwarming moment you've had with a client's pet.
A: I feel like every service with a pet is memorable in its own way. What I love the most is seeing our client’s pets learn to trust and love us more and more each time we see them! I will say that my biggest pride and joy has been earning the trust of my friend Banjo. He has a lot of fear and anxiety about strangers, and with the help of his amazing parents and dog sister Birdie, he and I have been able to go for walks and adventures together. He trusts me enough now that he is comfortable taking treats directly from my hand! It took a few meetings for us to be able to leave the backyard but it was so incredibly worth it to see him start to open up to me, and I know that we will be able to form a stronger bond as time goes on.
Ray and Maddie
Q: Do you have a favorite pet or client story you'd like to share?
A: I want to say before I fully answer this question, that I love all of our clients' pets, no matter what, with all of my heart, and there is nothing I wouldn’t do for them. I will say though, that I do have a stronger bond with some pets - particularly Gus, Ray and Hazel, and Miller. They all remind me of past dogs that I loved at the doggy daycares I worked at, so it was hard for me not to love them and their fun silly selves. Ray in particular likes to make his adventures interesting by laying down wherever he happens to be standing, and not move. It is hilarious every single time and never ever fails to make me laugh while his sister Hazel just waits him out and finds a stick to chew on.
Q: Besides working with animals, what are your hobbies or interests?
A: My main hobbies outside of working with animals are reading, video games, and movies. I have other small hobbies like cooking and baking, but I don’t spend as much time on those as the others. I’m a big horror and fantasy fan, so I read a lot of books and play games in those genres. I became a very active member on the website Twitch for a few years and made some incredible friends through it, and have gone to their convention the past two years in a row.
Q: Do you have any pets of your own? If so, tell us about them.
Maddie and her dog Atlas
A: I have three pets currently! Two cats, Finn and Itsy, and a dog named Atlas. Itsy is 10 years old, Finn is 8-9 years old, and Atlas is 3 and a half years old. Both Itsy and Finn came to me through my godmother as feral strays that were both rescued in their first few months of life. I was only supposed to help with Itsy’s socialization, but she and I formed a strong bond so quickly that I couldn’t give her up. Finn came along about a year and a half later, when my godmother said she had just rescued a baby orange tabby and my mom and I agreed to adopt him, since we’re suckers for an orange tabby. We adopted Atlas in 2021, after his mom and litter were rescued by the organization run by my dog daycare boss at the time, and he was another foster fail. He’s half hound half lab, and his personality really lives up to his name with the amount of sass he has. He’s big on sniff walks, the dog park, and being with me and my mom. He’s also the reason I’ve become interested in dog training - he’s a frustrated greeter, so he is reactive on leash to strangers and other dogs. It was a huge learning curve for me as a first time owner on how to handle these behaviors, and I have learned so much in the last three years thanks to him.
Q: Are there any favorite dog parks or pet-friendly spots you recommend in our area?
A: My favorite dog park is Currie Park. So far, I haven’t had any negative experiences there and 99% of the owners who also take their dogs there are super responsible and are always with their pups. I love taking our client’s pets to the Forest Trail Exploration Center in Wauwatosa, or to Seven Bridges Hiking Trail/Grant Park in South Milwaukee when I’m in that area.
Q: What's your go-to tip for clients looking to provide the best care for their pet?
A: My go-to tip for clients is to train/care for the pet in front of you! It’s become so common now with social media to see pets that act perfectly behaved or have top of the line equipment/food, etc., that it makes the average pet owner feel like they aren’t doing enough for their furry family. The reality is that the work that went into those pets, or xyz diet may not work for yours! Each pet is an individual and their training needs/day-to-day-needs need to be tailored specifically for them and what will benefit THEM the most! You don’t need to feed your dog with a sensitive stomach a raw diet just because the influencer on TikTok feeds her dogs a raw diet. Your beagle who loves to sniff and explore does NOT need to be in a strict heel just because the dog trainer with a Belgian Malinois on Instagram Reels walks his that way! As long as you do what you know will benefit your pet the most, that’s all you need to worry about!
Q: How would you describe the teamwork and camaraderie among our pet care team?
A: The teamwork displayed in the Off Leash team is out of this world amazing. I’ve worked a lot of jobs that require working as a team and I have never encountered it to this level. We all have each other's backs, and everyone is willing to cover for each other or pick up some extra hours if there’s an emergency or someone is sick. All the women on this team are amazing people as well. I don’t think I’ve ever met a kinder group in a work setting and I am honored that I get to be on the same team as all of them!
Q: What do you appreciate most about working with our company?
A: The thing I appreciate most about working for Off Leash is that Lori and Marsha are such understanding people, and are so flexible if last minute life events happen. They are so willing to make sure we have a good work-life balance and are always checking in on us to make sure we’re all doing well. They are both so easy to talk to and it’s so easy to approach them with any questions or concerns that the team or clients may have!
Maddie, thank you for being a part of the team and for the great care you give our clients!
