A Tribute to Maci

If you’ve been around Clicks Dog Training for any amount of time, you’ve probably heard me mention Maci. She's the beautiful, creamy, curly-tailed dog that graces just about every page and blog post on my website.

Maci wasn’t just my dog - she was my business partner. She was there before Clicks had a name, before I had a logo, before I had the confidence to say, “this is what I do.” She was part of the foundation of everything I’ve built over the last six years.

This month marks the sixth anniversary of Clicks Dog Training. And just a few days before that, on March 5, I lost Maci to cancer. Specifically, a very rare cancer—gastric carcinoma—which presented with symptoms that made cancer feel like the very last possible explanation. After ruling out so many other scary possibilities, we came to the heartbreaking conclusion of what she was suffering from. Only a few days later, she crossed over the rainbow bridge.

She was only six years old. Cancer.

It was sudden in the way that completely shifts your world...the kind where you think you have more time… and then you don’t. The kind that leaves you walking through your house, your routines, your favorite places, feeling like something is constantly missing… because it is.

I see her everywhere.

In the spots she used to lie, or the garden where she’d sit like a creamy white statue.

In the familiar routes we walked together.

In the quiet moments that used to include her without me even thinking about it.

Maci taught me so much in her six short years. She helped shape the trainer I am today - my patience, my perspective, my appreciation for meeting dogs where they are. She’s a big part of why I care so deeply about building trust, creating safety, and honoring each dog as an individual.

She wasn’t just along for the ride - she helped guide it.

At home, life looks different now. Miles and Murphy are still here, keeping me grounded in the day-to-day rhythms of dog life. There is still laughter, still movement, still training moments every single morning that remind me why I love what I do. They are even finally getting a long-overdue commitment to learning some leash manners.

And at some point, I know I’ll welcome another big dog into our family.

Not as a replacement—because there is no replacing Maci—but as a continuation of the life and love that she was such a huge part of. That’s the thing about loving dogs… it doesn’t end. It just grows and changes shape.

But for now, I’m allowing myself to miss her.

To feel the quiet.

To notice the absence.

To honor the space she filled in both my life and my business.

Maci was the one who truly put the “lick” in Clicks.

And she always will be.

Thank you, sweet girl, for everything.