Although I have always loved animals, my real love affair with dogs began in 1998, when I adopted an exceptional beagle named Clancy from a local animal shelter. In 1999, on the 1-year anniversary of Clancy’s adoption, I returned to the shelter as a volunteer. I held a variety of management roles during the next 15 years, and my work included arranging the intake of homeless dogs, facilitating adoptions, coordinating volunteer training, assisting with veterinary care, mentoring dogs with special needs, promoting the use of positive reinforcement training, and leading several initiatives to improve the dogs’ quality of life at the shelter and beyond.
But mostly, I worked with the dogs … hundreds of wonderful dogs, each of whom left pawprints on my heart.
In addition to Clancy, my own household over the last 24 years has included Winnie (Plott hound), Daisy (border collie), Angela (poodle), Brooke (Australian cattle dog), Theo (chow), Tommy (pit mix), Gracie (Sheltie mix), Hobbes (terrier mix), and Bitsy (beagle).
Tommy is the dog who inspired my interest in hydrotherapy. In 2006, he was a young stray limping along I-71 with a broken leg. His owner, located via a rabies tag, had no interest in him and agreed to surrender him. To try to save Tommy’s leg, I consulted orthopedic surgeons and physical therapists, and even set up a home hydrotherapy tub. Unfortunately, Tommy’s leg was beyond repair, and amputation turned out to be the best option for him. But hydrotherapy helped minimize the effects of arthritis as he aged, and kept him comfortable and active to age 17. My beloved Tommy passed away peacefully in June 2022.
In 2012, I was certified as a Canine Aquatic Practitioner (Levels One and Two) at La Paw Spa in Sequim, Washington, where I studied with Cindy Horsfall, founder of the International Association of Canine Water Therapy. I have also studied positive reinforcement training methods with Carla Whitaker of Positive Paws, canine massage with Patricia Whalen-Shaw at Integrated Touch Therapy and Cindy Erickson at La Paw Spa, and Reiki with Julie Keefe of the Shelter Animal Reiki Association. I have also served as an Instructor for the Red Cross course on Pet First Aid. Here Buoy! is my way of making the benefits of water exercise available to more dogs in the Cincinnati area.
Aside from my work with animals, I have a BS in Biology from the University of Michigan and a graduate degree in Library Science (MLS) from Indiana University. Before continuing my training with dogs, I was a librarian at Good Samaritan Hospital and The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County. Other interests have included scuba diving, vintage dance (as a performer with the Flying Cloud Academy of Vintage Dance and the Cincinnati Court Dancers), and Lindy hop (as co-founder of the Cincinnati Swing Dance Society, the Cincinnati Hepcats, and the Cincinnati Lindy Circle). Dance training promotes sensitivity, communication, and mutual respect between dance partners … skills that have been remarkably valuable when I develop a “partnership” with a dog!
A native of Ann Arbor, Michigan, I have lived in the Cincinnati area since 1985, including 17 years in beautiful Loveland.
Karla Barton