08/26/2026
THE ANSWER IS STARING DOG PROFESSIONALS IN THE FACE.
Boomer’s family wants answers.
And I think the answer staring experienced dog professionals in the face is probably the hardest one to hear:
If the reported sequence is accurate, this was preventable.
And I don’t think that conversation should stop with the dog walker.
Because then I found the company advertising dog-walking positions as:
“Take walks, make friends, and make money.”
Looking for animal lovers.
No experience required.
On-the-job training.
And suddenly this becomes a much bigger conversation.
Because what exactly are we expecting to happen when we take someone who loves dogs, has good intentions, but has little or no experience reading group behaviour, and put them in charge of multiple dogs?
We are asking them to make decisions they may not even know are decisions yet.
Is this barking harmless excitement or is the group getting too elevated?
Does this dog need space?
Is restraint increasing frustration?
Should these dogs be standing this close together?
Are the leashes becoming a problem?
Should another dog be added right now?
Should I completely change the plan?
An experienced dog handler has that voice going off in their head before the emergency happens.
Too much. Too close. Not like this. Change the picture.
You cannot expect somebody to have that judgement simply because they love animals.
And this is where I actually feel terrible for the walker too.
Because if you hire somebody telling them no experience is required, then place them into situations where experience can literally save a dog’s life, what exactly did we think “on-the-job training” was going to look like?
The dogs become part of the learning curve.
And that is unacceptable.
There is nothing wrong with being new.
Every single experienced dog professional started somewhere.
But there is a responsible way to build experience.
One dog at a time.
Then different dogs.
Then compatible pairs.
Then more complicated situations as your ability grows.
You do not learn how to manage multiple aroused dogs by finding out, in real time, what happens when the situation gets beyond your skill level.
That is why I don’t think this should become a witch hunt against one dog walker.
I think the industry failed her too.
We continue selling dog walking as a cute little side job for animal lovers while quietly expecting those same people to possess the observation skills, behavioural knowledge and judgement of experienced handlers.
Then something catastrophic happens and everyone asks:
How could this happen?
This is how.
When the level of responsibility is higher than the level of experience.
When loving dogs gets confused with knowing dogs.
When companies treat behavioural skill like something employees can just pick up along the way while already responsible for clients’ animals.
And unfortunately, Boomer paid the price.
That is the part that makes this so sickening.
Not because nobody could have known.
Because somebody with enough experience should have known before the first bite ever happened that the picture was becoming unsafe.
So yes, Boomer’s family deserves answers.
But I think the question needs to get bigger than:
“What did this dog walker do wrong?”
We should also be asking:
Why was someone without enough experience ever placed in a position where getting that judgement wrong could cost a dog his life?
That is an industry problem.
And Boomer wasn’t the first dog to die while in the care of a dog walker.
He won’t be the last.
Not unless we stop treating professional dog walking like a casual side hustle for all dog lovers and start treating experience and behavioural knowledge like the safety requirements they actually are.
