Doggy Doula Colleen Safford Comes to the Rescue

No one can say that New Yorkers aren’t creative and enterprising people.   Take Colleen Safford, the “Doggy Doula” for example. Colleen started NYC’s only service that is completely dedicated to educating dog owners about their animals and finding solutions for dog families when the baby comes along.

As their website explains,

“Our services   help educate families on dog-child safety, preparing you and your dog for your new baby, decrease stress by answering common questions of expectant parents, and create safe environments and schedules that enable baby, parents and dog to live cohesively.”

Now I’ve seen everything.

Colleen has been getting a good deal of recognition for her services. She was named “Best of NY” by New York Magazine and has couples in Brooklyn and far beyond calling her for her services.   Colleen argues that 50% of all children will have been bitten by a dog by the time they are 12 — and that it’s imperative to help a dog to integrate a baby into the family. As she explains,  “There is zero upside to remaining uneducated about child-dog safety.”

As the Doggy Doula explained to one couple,

“Everyone thinks supervision is enough, but it’s about the relationship and understanding your dog’s body language.”

The Doggy Doula can help out the expectant couple in private sessions, through Skype or on the phone.

Along with baby preparation and dog safety training, they also have dog walking services, dog boarding and even dog-themed birthday party coordination.

Now that’s something to bark about!