Dog trainer, animal lover writes book bound to tug at heartstrings

Burlington illustrator and PetSmart dog trainer, author writes a coming-of-age book that is touching, compelling
Not only is Patricia Gallinger-Giao a sought-after dog trainer and illustrator, she’s now an author with several books penned by her.
The Burlington woman uses the pen name P.G. Parks (a combination of her actual name) for her books, including her first novel which is available now: Chasing Shadow Book One: a tale of two dogs.
A retired racing greyhound named Spider is the unsung hero of the debut novel. As a rescue, Spider struggles to fit in with a boy who has his heart set on a different dog.

Vivid writing in Chasing Shadow gets readers hooked quickly, championing the main character of the novel – a 13-year-old boy living in poverty and struggling through tough times at home and in the community, courtesy of the town bully. The coming-of-age story does a great job of capturing those defining moments that shape our destinies. Needless to say it pulls at your heartstrings as it clearly relays what it means to love a dog.
“I write about things close to the human heart,” said Patricia who spent 15 illustrating children’s books, then 14 years in the corporate world of business development and instructional design. She has a diploma in book illustration, web design and corporate communications. Her passion for writing and the print word runs deep, in fact, she might just be the only Canadian who doesn’t own a cell phone.
She plans to write the Chasing Shadow Trilogy, but hasn’t completed the second book yet. Aimed at tweens and young adults, anyone who cares for animals will enjoy the book, including adults. It’s expertly written, leaving you yearning for more thanks to her compelling insights.

For Patricia, who also has two adult children, it’s a given that her book would be about canines – given the many dogs she’s crossed paths with as a dog trainer – but she’s a lover of all animals, having fostered squirrels, (Freddy, a black squirrel she syringe fed over a winter, giving up her master bathroom to him) ducks, and birds such as chipping sparrow, robins and a grackle. She’s been a pet parent to many others, rats, hamsters, fish and currently a guinea pig named Piggy.
As a child growing up near Speers Road in Oakville, her home was a menagerie of animals. They also occupied her sketchbooks and were the subject of all her short writing and painting.
Her first rescue entered her life when she was a teenager; his name was Laddie. But there were several other dogs including coonhounds and beagles. She and her husband own one dog, a Parson Russell Terrier named Sky is “going on 19”. She’s deaf and blind, but knows her way around her home with no problems.

“All of these nonhuman beings have steered my life’s passion as a writer, artist, and currently, as a part-time canine instructor,” she said, adding she was a writer before she was a dog trainer, professionally and as a hobby. For years she wrote The Dog Blog, helping students and the dog community.
Her dedication to dogs is nearly unmatched. As a dog trainer at PetSmart on Brant Street, her clients have returned for many sessions. She holds up to 10 classes/week.
“Dog training is about communicating with another species in a way they understand,” she said. “It’s about showing, not telling.”
She knows all her clients by name – the dogs, that is – and enjoys training puppy owners, realizing how important it is for every dog to learn to come when commanded, and react to its owner’s commands immediately. It can be a life and death situation, as she knows firsthand having narrowly avoided her own dog running into traffic one day, just by shouting “down,” training she learned from puppy classes.
“Every penny spent on those classes was an investment in our years together,” she said.
In addition to her novel, Patricia has created a series of puppy portraits to colour in her book Puppy Pawlooza Colouring Book and her expertise in dog training is shared in the books Learn the Art of Loose Leash Walking, Dog Training and Communication that Works, and Potty Training 101.
All the books are available on Amazon or at her website www.fourpawspress.ca
She dedicated the book to her future grandchildren, stating “May they know the joy and love of a dog, all the days of their lives.”
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