Mike and Laura have loved dogs since childhood. Today it is their privilege to serve your family’s pet.

Laura

“It never ceases to amaze me how subtly we can communicate with our dogs. If you can be fully present, even in total silence, you can ‘hear’ how your dog speaks to you; and see how intently they listen to you.” ~ Laura H.

Laura Haynes, Founder of Sammy’s Dawgz, grew up on a small farm in the woods around a slew of different animals. In early home movies of Laura as a child she always had a baby bunny in her arms. By age 11 she was roaming the woods often alone on horseback followed by her childhood dog Puppy.

Until age 19, at every opportunity (usually every Saturday) she would spend the entire day roaming the woods and State parks, and just exploring on horseback sometimes with a friend or two. In fact, Laura often jokes that she was “raised by horses”. Laura continued to have animals of some sort (even if it was just fish and snakes) throughout most of her life. Then her love of animals turned to a focus on dogs and dog training in 2014 after rescuing a difficult dog (Tanner).

Soon after the death of her son, in May of 3013, Laura was traveling 1,000 miles from home when she met and rescued Tanner. She immediately began realizing the therapeutic gifts of working with dogs. But Tanner was quite a challenge and with limited formal dog training skills, Laura had a big challenge to overcome.

“Friends encouraged me to take him back to the shelter, but I was determined to learn how to work with him. He took so much of my time and attention that it saved me from desperate grief. So in reality we rescued each other”. ~

Laura H.

Because dogs live in the moment, successful training and conditioning requires that the owner also be present in the moment. Being present in the moment is the avenue through which dogs help people heal.

Laura is certified in Fundamentals of Dog Psychology I & II by Cesar Millan, completed a three day “Master the Remote” seminar taught by Tylor Muto, and networks with world renown trainers to add skills and experience to her tool belt. Laura strives to help people find alternatives when faced with giving up their dog because of behavior and aggression problems or do to a life crisis.