Dogs
About Dee’s Dogs
Dee’s Dogs is owned by me, Jacky Dee! I’m a dog owner, pet lover, and professional dog walker. I adore the outdoors, and take my responsibilities very seriously.
On This Page
“Since officially opening Dee’s Dogs in 2018 it’s been my full-time profession. I know that I have found my true calling.”
Jacky “Dee’s Dogs” Dee
Dee’s Dogs officially opened back in 2018, but I’ve been hiking with and taking care of animals for as long as I can remember.
I was raised by a mother who loved to go on long road trips. I was always in the minivan, reading or staring out the window.
My childhood imagination would conjure up large dogs or packs of wolves that would run alongside our vehicle, racing and leaping over the passing landscape.
Walking has always been a form of medicine for me. In my childhood (and into my adult years) I moved many times. Going for a walk through these always-changing neighbourhoods gave my body and mind a chance to recalibrate and connect with my new environments. When I am walking I feel peace.
The outdoors have always called to me. From 2010-2012 I was attending Algonquin College in Ottawa completing a diploma in horticulture.
I found that while I was working I kept wishing I were out in the ferns and trees with my dog Zoe (her story is below). Instead I was mopping up messes on a concrete floor behind a big glass viewing window.
Don’t get me wrong, those dogs all loved being at the doggy daycare. It just wasn’t quite right for me.
From 2013-2014 I was attending VIU where I completed the Community Mental Health Outreach Certification program, which continued into a practicum during 2015. During that time I was adamantly taking my neighbours' dogs for adventures in the woods.
And the rest, as they say, is history.
Dog walking is no longer something I do on the side. Since officially opening Dee's Dogs in 2018 it's been a full-time profession, and I know that I have found my true calling.
Nowadays while I travel many kilometres around town to take care of the pets I love I am reminded of those long drives in the minivan as a kid. I like to think my mother is having a good laugh that my first vehicle was the minivan that I sought out specifically for a pet sitting business.
In 2021 I upgraded to a brand-new hybrid vehicle to shuttle Dee's Dogs around in.
Today I couldn’t be happier to say I am a full-time, professional dog walker and pet sitter. Every day is a joy; I look forward to adventuring with your dog in the future!
“Nowadays while I travel around town taking care of the pets I love I am reminded of those long drives in the minivan as a kid.”
Zoe “The Adventure Dog”
Zoe The Adventure Dog Dee has been my best friend since 2012, when she was 8 months old.
I was not expecting to have a new dog in my life at that time. Especially not a small dog; the family dogs I had growing up were all large breeds, predominantly Staffordshire Terrier and pitbulls.
In 2012 I had recently graduated from college in Ontario. I just returned from a hitchhiking trip across Canada where I experienced the West Coast, and was in the middle of working and saving money to officially move westward.
But one day my aunt called me up and let me know that there was one puppy left of her accidental litter between her Jack Russell and Shih Tzu.
Zoe was a bundle of kinetic energy, and very stubborn, and it was proving difficult to find this puppy the right home. She was the runt of the litter, but made up for her size with a very daring personality.
The rest of our meet-cute is fairly typical: I told my aunt I would come to visit the puppy, and if it seemed like a good fit I would be her new human.
Of course, who goes home empty-handed after saying "oh I'll just go and see the puppy and maybe take it home"?
So by the next week I had my very first Jack Shih Tzu.
To this day we continue to match each other's tenacity, drive, and love of being on the trails. While she has begun to slow down slightly as she ages, she has an impressive adventure dog resume!
She has been on bicycle excursions that lead into weekend camping trips; she has been canoeing, kayaking, mountain trekking, and backwoods camping; she's taken airplane trips, and had only a few moments of finally throwing in the towel and needing to be carried inside of my jacket.
I am supremely blessed to have this four-legged wonder in my life. She makes me grateful every day to wake up and see what's next!
“I am blessed to have Zoe in my life. She makes me grateful every day to wake up and see what’s next!”
BB “The Bush Bish”
My dog-mobile is a 2022 Mitsubishi Outlander hybrid SUV. I affectionately call her BB “The Bush Bish”.
I did my research before purchasing BB. I needed a vehicle that would comfortably fit 4 dogs (my maximum social hike size) where I could install gates to separate those who are eager to play and pups who require a little bit of space while travelling.
I absolutely love the higher clearance, 4x4 setting, and "snow mode", which makes it great to handle during winter driving conditions and some of the rough roads that I encounter.
BB has the ability to go up to 50 kilometres on just one plug-in charge, and uses regenerative breaking technology to charge the battery as I drive throughout the day. This allows me very efficient fuel mileage and extremely low emissions compared to many of the older model vehicles on the road.
Many of Dee's dogs now recognize the distinct "spaceship noise" my vehicle makes when it's running solely on electric power.
BB has been a game changer for Dee's Dogs!
