Guest: Gaby Boijsen
What kind of people adopt a dog with a bite history? This episode is the second in a 2-part special series following the journey of RiffRaff, a rescue dog with some seriously problematic behavior.
Gaby Boijsen often describes herself as a bureaucrat by day, moonlighting as a dog trainer at R+ Hundskola (“R+ Dog Academy”) on nights and weekends. A social worker by education and profession, she has spent a good chunk of her adult work life as a probation officer, mainly working with offenders of intimate partner violence. Nowadays she is an analyst within a government agency, working with behavior change at an organizational level.
A self-proclaimed behavior geek and animal rights activist, Gaby strives to learn all she can about all the things that can help herself and others to be better pet parents. She holds a special spot in her heart for shelter dogs/rescues and currently shares her life in the South of Sweden with her wife Ida and their Irish stray Jinkx and rehomed chihuahua mix Lilly. Gaby is a recurrent sufferer from imposter syndrome, but is working hard to view herself with the same kindness she tries to meet learners with.
In this episode we discuss:
- What was Gaby even thinking when she was working with this dog?
- Did she ever think about just giving up?
- What kind of people would adopt a dog that bites?
- How did she arrange the transition to RiffRaff’s new home?
Links mentioned:
This podcast is supported by: Voilà! Pets
Visit the Voilà! Pets website and use code DFTT for 10% off of your order of sustainable, consciously-crafted treat bags.
