Client Stories

I live alone with my black lab mix named Jasper and and my grey tabby cat named Willow. They are both rescues. I work as an ER nurse and to say the least, my work is stressful. Jasper and Willow have always been my grounding force after a long shift, but I started to worry when Jasper's behavior changed. He became more anxious, restless and overall seemed sad. Sometimes he would even refuse his food (which anyone knows that if their Lab doesn't want to eat, then something might be wrong.) I tried multiple vet visits, new diets, medications, trainers, you name it, we tried it. And then we met Elissa. She listened to our story (and how we got to this point) and came up with a plan of simple exercises including gentle walks and mindful breathing routines when I'm with Jasper and Willow, better nutrition and exercises for myself and new ways to strengthen the bond and love I have for Jasper and Willow. Within weeks, Jasper relaxed into the old soul that adopted from the shelter and I feel lighter, happier and have a new lease on life. Elissa taught me that helping my pets thrive started with helping myself and I could not be more grateful for her.

— Marianne M., Kitchener, Ontario

My name is Sarah, I'm 42 years old and live with my husband just outside of the city with my two kids and a loving golden retriever named Luna. I work full time as a teacher where I give 100% every day. Everyone sees me as strong and nurturing, but deep down, I was running on empty. I thought I was doing everything right but over time, my energy was low, stress was high and no amount of coffee or self help books was making me feel better. Luna recently became more anxious and clingy and deep down, I knew it was because she felt how disconnected I was from well, everything. I was doing all the “right things” but it was all just going through the motions to make everyone else happy. Elissa worked with me on simple, grounding fitness routines that did not intimidate me and she taught me how to breathe...literally. Lots of nature based resets everyday and I only needed to start with 5 minutes at a time. She provided animal communication sessions with Luna which revealed how she was feeling and the emotional ties she had with me. I had no idea how much she loved me! Luna is now much less clingy, I can happily say my sleep and self talk has greatly improved and feel so peaceful and powerful for the first time in many years.

— Sarah B., London, Ontario

I work remotely in digital design. I consider myself active but not gym obsessed. I much prefer to hit the trails on my mountain bike or do a little yoga at home than to lift weights at the gym. But there was a point where I felt stuck between the love and loyalty I have for my senior Border Collie, Skip, because his arthritis was slowing him down and could not join me on my bike rides. The guilt was killing me inside and I know Skip was not happy either. After all, we are both adrenaline junkies. So I made the choice to put my adventures on hold and stay home with Skip. After awhile, I started to feel depressed and began resenting having an older dog to take care of when I'm young still and wanted to have fun and live my best life. In comes Elissa...she's a great listener and even when I wasn't proud of what I revealed to her, I never ever felt judged and Elissa had me laughing by the end of it all. She's actually really funny considering she works in the holistic wellness field. She offered compassionate yet professional advice, zero BS and helped Skip and I create our own new routine or what Elissa calls our “daily rhythm of needs and expectations.” I'm pretty sure it has added years to Skip's life AND I'm back to hitting the trails solo without guilt. Thank you so much Elissa for helping me through a challenging time.

— Ivan S., Strathroy, Ontario

There was a time I thought I knew everything there was to know about horses and then came the day when I realized I didn't understand my horses at all. I thought having all of the supplements, blankets and training gadgets in the world made me one of the better equestrians around yet my horses carried a lot of baggage and I mean ALOT. I knew I needed help. After multiple trainers only to have my horses come back worse, I decided to suck up my ego and call Elissa, as she was recommended by a friend. All I can say is WOW. The perspective she gives is kind, practical and in my case humbling. She sat quietly in the arena, holding one of my toughest horses, while I stormed off and basically had a meltdown. She sat in that area for 20 minutes, holding my horse and when I returned and apologized, ready for her to rip me a new one, she smiled and said “We can continue only when you're ready, you are the boss of your journey, I'm simply here to help where I can.” I said “okay, I'm ready” and then she went on like nothing happened, even telling me stories of her own struggles she had with her own horse. That session will forever humble me. I think it was about three months when things really started to click again with my horses and we were back to competing and actually loving the sport again. I will recommend Elissa over and over again.

— Kathy F., Flamborough, Ontario