Claudia

Subject: For Jeff and the Misty Pines Team from Claudia

Dear Jeff,

Over one week into Tasha's transition from living with all of you at Misty Pines to living with me and Sophie, I want to write this morning to mark this transition and to thank you for all that you've done for Tasha, for the Gallant family, and for me. In some ways, I feel that I've lived 10 years in the months marked by the first meeting we had about Tasha, her history, her problems, and the hope we all had for her rehabilitation. Though I knew from the beginning that you would provide the very best shot that Tasha could have at becoming the dog that she could truly be, I couldn't have predicted the intensity of the experience for her, and the personal growth that I've experienced as a result of my learning how to be her leader. Well, I am in the PROCESS of becoming a leader. This is a lifelong commitment that will continue to provide me with the opportunity to grow as her handler and as a human being. People who haven't had the benefit of this kind of close relationship with an animal, especially with a dog, just don't understand! But I know that you and every member of the team at Misty Pines does understand.

A couple of particular commendations:

Brett. He has been simply an incomparable trainer, coach, leader, and friend throughout this whole process, first with Sophie, and now with Tasha. He is a real problem solver and a highly creative thinker.He was always engaged in a process of drawing on his knowledge, his training, and his team work with you, Jeff, while customizing the next step or next phase to suit the particular needs of Tasha in whatever phase she was in. He was always positive, always upbeat, always came to our trainings with a "can do" attitiude. He was also highly sensitive to my insecurities and lack of belief in my capacity to become Tasha's leader, but he was tough and held me to a high standard even when I didn't believe in myself. The relationship of Tasha and me would not have progressed to the place where it is now had it not been for Brett's discipline, commitment, inquiry into the next right step, and what has come to be a real love of the dog herself.

The MP Team. In my own profession, I create and lead teams of people people all the time and I know what high functioning teams and low functioning teams look like. Your team is exceptional. Amy, Kelly, Sherri, the kennel team: there has never been a point in my interactions with any of the people I've worked with at MP that I haven't experienced a laser-like focus on me and my questions and on my particular dog. This client focus is true on the phone, at the desk, in the dog park, in the training center, in the kennel: the point of interaction with the client is personal, caring, prompt, and effective. Every member of the team IS Misty Pines, IS the mission, IS what the company stands for in every interaction. Jim Collins, in his great book on successful companies, Good to Great (and who provides the conceptual framework for much of my professional thinking; I highly recommend it) says: "The single biggest danger in business and in life, other than outright failure, is to be successful without being resolutely clear about why you are successful in the first place." This mantra may not be what drives the MP team in its daily work, but it's important to keep in mind because AS a client, I've experienced the results of all of you being resolutely clear about what you do and why you're sucessful, what you're passionate about and how you deliver on the promise. Kudos to every member of the team.

Jeff. No organization is successful without a great coach, mentor, and team leader. I attribute the success of the Misty Pines experience to you, Jeff, and to all that you do to model best practices in dog training, rehabilitation, understanding of the dog's issues, living a healthy life with dogs, and understanding what people need to help make them successful leaders of their dogs. The company simply could not exist without your vision and stewardship of a powerful idea. When Jon, Risako, and I first truly wrangled with the brutal facts of Tasha's state and the negative impact it was having on their lives, I knew immediately that you were the person to take on the project. In our sharing with you the personal information about our family and Tasha's situation, we all felt that we were sharing with someone who listened, heard, and understood how important it was to us to bring Tasha to a socialized, functioning place. I know that what we have now is foundational and will require a lifetime of commitment to Tasha and to maintaining her at the standard you've set for her and for me. What you've given me, though, is the beginnings of a skill set to handle whatever comes up and the support system to continue to grow and increase my own skills in relating well to dogs. I feel that I came into this as a person focused on solving a problem. I have come out of it a better person.

Sophie. Is she not the BEST dog in the entire universe?? She has been generous, quizzical, open, and able to share her life with me and Tasha in a way that impresses me every single day. Much of her good nature and temperament is just who she is. But you have all contributed to helping her become the dog that she can truly be.

Tasha. She is a dog with a huge heart. Have you ever seen a dog who throws herself, heart and soul, into whatever she does, the level of intensity with which she approaches whatever the next obstacle is, the intelligence, the strength, the focus? You have truly given her a chance to live her life as the dog that she truly is and can be. I know that life with her will always be a challenge, but what in life that's worth anything doesn't challenge and push us to set high standards and exceed our own expectations? Tasha has provided me with the opportunity to learn something about myself that I didn't know, and you've given me the beginnings of the skill set to meet that challenge. I can't think of anything more valuable than that.

You have guessed with we are a family of writers! Long winded too. I'm sorry to have gone on at such length. I felt a need to put on paper (well, e-paper) some of my thinking and experience. I anticipate a long, productive relationship with you and with everyone at Misty Pines, with Tasha and Sophie, and with any other dogs who find their way to my family and thank you all from all the Gallant family, from Tasha and Sophie, and from me. If I can ever provide testimony to a gold standard experience of your company, please call on me.

Warmly and with great affection and thanks,

Claudia