We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sara Sokol a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Sara with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
I started taking ballet classes when I was three years old. For as long as I can remember, I wanted to be a professional ballerina.
By the time I was 10 years old, I was taking classes five days a week on a full scholarship at the local ballet studio, where I studied. I knew that if I wanted to become a professional dancer, and I did, that I’d have to work as hard as I possibly could. See, I didn’t have a lot of natural ability and talent; My feet weren’t very “archie”, I wasn’t super flexible, and my legs didn’t hyperextend the way that it dancer’s legs are supposed to to get the lines that they want.
What I lacked in natural ability and talent I made up for in hard work, sweat, blood, and tears.
I would attend five week, summer preprofessional ballet intensives, and take every available class that I could.
At the age of 15 I decided to move out of my family home and into a dorm at the Alabama School of Fine Arts in Birmingham, a performing arts high school affiliated with the Alabama ballet.
This gave me the opportunity to not only have ballet classes be part of my school curriculum, but also the opportunity to perform as a student with the professional company.
In 1997 at the age of 17 I decided to get my GED and leave the high school a year early and taking an apprenticeship that I was offered with the professional company.
I spent the next seven years dancing with the Alabama ballet.
The hard work and dedication that I needed to make that dream come true, has served me in every aspect of my life. Being a professional ballet dancer, give me a strength like nothing else I can imagine would have.
I learned that no matter how hard anything was that I was one tough cookie and I could handle it, and not just handle it but I could persevere and rock it!
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
Hello! My name is Sara Sokol. I got into the business of dogs when I was a teenager, pet sitting and dog walking for family friends and neighbors.
In 2004, I started Follow My Lead, a full service dog walking/running and pet sitting business in Pasadena, California. Follow My Lead. serviced seven different cities throughout the Pasadena area, employed 6 part time employees and held a client base of 80+ rotating customers.
To facilitate the addition of dog training and behavior modification to Follow My Lead, I began an internship with the Pasadena Humane Society and SPCA which was an open admission shelter. As a behavior and training tech, my job was to preform full behavior assessments including touch sensitivity, food and toy possession, along with dog-to-dog testing on all dogs entering the shelter. Many of the dogs at the shelter had issues with aggression, anxiety, shy/fearful behavior. We also performed evaluations on dogs quarantined for biting.
As lead trainer, I taught obedience classes ranging from Puppy Kindergarten to Advanced Obedience, as well as activity classes including Agility, Tricks, and a class created using my background as a yoga instructor: Doga – yoga with your dog!
Working in a shelter that takes in dogs of all breeds, ages, sizes, and temperaments was an invaluable opportunity for me to fine tune my dog training and behavior modification skills, as well as my understanding of dog body language. My time working at the Pasedena Humane Society was a gift. The knowledge that I gained there from my amazing coworkers and the dogs in the shelter, was priceless. The obedience classes I taught helped owners learn how to effectively communicate with their dogs, helping them build strong and permanent relationships.
In 2011 I relocated to Connecticut, where I continued my work with animals as District Manager of the Connecticut Humane Society.
In 2012 I moved to Maine and Mr. Dog Training was born, named for my partner in crime, Milo, my little white shih tzu who was the heartbeat by my side. Unfortunately I lost Milo in September 2023 at 15.5 years old.
Helping people and dogs learn to communicate and trust each other is my favorite part of my job. There is nothing better than watching a person and their dog learn and work together with smiles, laughter, and a glint in their eyes.
I’m grateful for the trust and support that my students, and the Maine community of dog guardians that I am so proud to be a part of, show me every day. I could not have landed in a more perfect place.
In addition I’ve been voted best dog trainer in Maine the past 9 years!
I’ve also always loved hospitality and the opportunity to prepare for, and welcome, friends and family as guests in my home. I remember being a child and pretending that my childhood home was my own and that I was getting it ready to host my own houseguests whenever we had family come stay. I have always loved homemaking and thought that I would like to run a Bed and Breakfast until I learned about the world of vacation rentals!
In the Fall of 2020 I had the opportunity to purchase Wiggleswick Cottage in Georgetown and turn it into my first short term vacation rental property where travelers can make all their Maine vacation dreams come true.
As a Maine resident, I take pride in my deep knowledge of the region, from recommending the best lobster shack in town to guiding you to secret hiking trails with breathtaking views. I am here to unveil the authentic essence of Maine, enabling you to create lasting memories and forge genuine connections with the local community.
Being a dog person it was a complete no brainer to welcome dogs and it is an absolute thrill to have guests come and stay with me and create such fantastic vacation memories with their families, including their dogs.
My passion for helping people travel with their dogs led me to start the wildly popular Dogs Welcome Facebook group and listing site where North American travelers can connect with short term and vacation rentals who are dog friendly!
I believe working with animals is the best job in the world and am grateful for the opportunity to have such beautiful creatures in my life. I learn from dogs daily. They teach me patience, acceptance, unconditional loving, and how to live in the present moment. Most importantly, they make me smile and laugh every day!
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
1. That I’m 10/10 when it comes to solving problems. No matter what life has thrown at me I’ve been able to get through it. Sure, sometimes it’s no fun, but I’ve always been able to figure out any bumps along the way. This has taught me to trust my wings so to speak. I’m not afraid the branch will break when I land on it because I trust that my wings will catch me.
Unfortunately, I think the only way to learn this, and to build this within, is to practice it over and over again. So start trusting yourself now.
2. Hard work. Nothing worth anything is easy. The sooner you are ok with working your ass off, the sooner you will make things happen.
3. Be genuine and vulnerable and don’t be afraid to show people who you are. I used to hide behind my businesses until I realized that if I truly shared who I am with my client base that not only would they relate to me more but they would trust me more.
What’s been one of your main areas of growth this year?
Have had a difficult past two years. I’ve lost 3 dogs to old age, including my soulmate dog, had to relocate my dog training business with only one month’s notice, sorting out some health challenges (hello perimenopause!) and am currently going through a divorce.
The past 10 months or so I’ve really been taking a hard look at how I ended up where I did in my marriage. I realized that a thread that has run through my whole life is waiting for someone to take care of me. I’ve learned that I can absolutely take care of myself and that I don’t need to rely on others when I can make myself feel taken care of.
That doesn’t mean that I don’t still enjoy and welcome someone caring for me, but that is extra to the care that I give myself. Everything I’ve searched for I have found within me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mrdogtraining.com/
- Instagram: @mrdogtraining
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/MrDogTraining/
- Other: Since I have three businesses I’d like to give you the info for my others here:
Dogs Welcome:
https://www.dogs-welcome.net/https://www.facebook.com/share/g/n2hHLpVCVxu4jNNs/?mibextid=WaXdOe@dogs_welcome_northamerica
https://m.facebook.com/dogswelcomenorthamerica/
Little White Dog Properties:
https://m.facebook.com/littlewwhitedogproperties/
@littlewhitedogproperties
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
