Mark the Spot for Training was born from a love of training but a lack of access to trainers, and this is the story of how Mark the Spot turned from a dream into reality
At the ripe young age of fourteen, I lived in Slidell with my mother. As a child of divorce, I had always been drawn to animals. I begged for a dog for years. On December 21, 2015, my mom, stepdad, and I went to the St. Tammany Parish Humane Society looking for a dog. While looking at the kennels, we stumbled upon a little brown, silly-looking dog. We asked to take him into the meet-and-greet room. I bent over to say hi to the puppy. He jumped onto my lap and kissed me until I fell over. At that moment, we knew he was the one. We named him Lazlo. He was my best friend, and I had never been so happy.
On February 23, 2019, almost four years after adopting Lazlo, I was shopping at the mall with friends when we walked past Petsmart. They were having an adoption event that my mom specifically told me to avoid. My friends and I decide to go in and look anyway. I spotted this little brown dog almost identical to Lazlo when I looked in the corner. I asked the staff to bring him out so I could meet him. I bent over, and Bodhi jumped onto my lap, giving me kisses, and eventually, I fell over. At that moment, I knew I needed him as much as he needed me. After a quick call and an hour of begging and pleading, my mom arrived at Petsmart to sign adoption papers for Bodhi (aka “Chicken Nugget”). We brought Bodhi home, and he and Lazlo instantly became best friends.
After bringing Bodhi home, we noticed that he had some behavioral issues. He was a runner. He would crawl between fence posts, dig holes, and slip outdoors, anything to run around free. It was terrifying and stress-inducing, so we got an electric fence and a shock collar to try to keep him from escaping.
On October 10, 2019, tragedy struck. My Mom and I were returning home from a doctor’s appointment in Covington around 8 pm. We got home and began closing the garage. When the garage was about halfway closed, we opened the door to the house, and Bodhi bolted. He slipped under the garage door. I immediately hit the button and took off after him, screaming his name and screaming for help. He stayed in our front yard for a large majority of his escape until he decided to try to cross the street. The electric fence shocked him, but he kept running. The chase continued. He tried to cross the street again, running through the electric fence. As he ran across the street, a truck turned the corner, and as I had feared so many times before, he was hit. I screamed, but he kept running for another 10 feet before lying down in his final resting place. At that moment, I began to scream and cry uncontrollably. My mom caught up with me, knowing what happened was terrible after hearing me scream.
Bodhi took his last breath in my arms. From that moment forward, I vowed never to let that happen again.
One month later, I started looking for a new dog. Another sweet puppy named Cookie on November 17, 2019, at 1:02 pm. I saw her photo and intuitively knew she was mine. I was in love, having never met her. Cookie came home on November 22, 2019. The day she came home, I swore I would not lose her like I lost Bodhi. I started reading books, watching videos about training, and teaching her as much as possible. With the help of a trainer in Lafayette, she became an obedient dog with a love of learning. I also found a passion for watching her and other dogs learn. I also vowed to do my best to prevent what happened to Bodhi from happening to any other dog.
Now I thank Bodhi for teaching me the importance of training and Cookie for helping me see how much I love it. If It weren't for those two I wouldn’t be the trainer I am today.
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