Heal. Nurture. Regenerate.

Three words that became a roadmap. For a dog I loved, for my own health, and for everything Roots & Paws is building toward.

It Started With Jasper

Jasper was my soul dog.

Twice, I brought him in when something felt wrong. Twice, I was told he was fine. That same night, I made one of the hardest decisions of my life, and said goodbye.

That night, I made Jasper a promise: his story would not end with his death.

The questions I was left with would become the questions I helped other pet parents answer. The helplessness I felt would become a reason to learn, to dig deeper, and to help others feel more informed when making decisions for the dogs they love.

That promise became the foundation of Roots & Paws.

Then It Became Personal

Just a few months after losing Jasper, I heard the words: "You have stage 2 breast cancer." I was 37.

After choosing to have a double mastectomy, I learned that my close friend was diagnosed with breast cancer too. Suddenly, this wasn't a fight I was facing alone. It became something we were learning to navigate together, and it's part of why this mission means as much to me as it does.

In that moment, I knew health was about more than eating well and exercising. Both my health and Jasper's had needed a deeper understanding than either of us ever got.

So I went looking for answers - deep into the research, the science, the questions no one had time to ask in a fifteen-minute appointment.

What I found changed everything: human health, animal health, and the health of the planet were never separate. They're one system.

From Pain to Practice

Long before Jasper and my diagnosis, I already had a passion for education and for women's health. I hold a master's degree in higher education and an undergraduate degree in Kinesiology. I've since gone on to become a Functional Diagnostic Nutrition practitioner (FDN), a Certified Holistic Pet Health Coach, an Institute for Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, and a Gut Thrive in 5 practitioner.

I've always believed conventional medicine is wonderful for what it's built for - emergencies, acute care, life-threatening situations. But for the everyday, ongoing question of why do I feel this way, I found it was often more sick-care than health-care. It's built to treat what's already gone wrong, not to help you understand what's happening beneath the surface before it does.

We don't actually have a shortage of health information. What we lack is direction and a way to turn scattered information into something we can actually apply to our own lives, and our dogs'.

That's what Roots & Paws exists to do: take functional, evidence-based education and make it practical enough to actually use. Not fear-based. Not one-size-fits-all. Just real information, real research, and real support. That way you can ask better questions and make informed decisions, for yourself and for the ones who depend on you.

What We Do Today

Roots & Paws offers educational courses, digital resources, and 1:1 wellness consultations across two connected paths - one for your health, one for your dog's - both built on the same functional, root-cause-informed approach.

Building Toward Something Bigger

Everything Roots & Paws teaches today (every course, every resource, every consultation) is helping build something much larger: Roots & Paws Sanctuary.

The Sanctuary is envisioned as a regenerative healing space where people can come stay and reconnect with nature, with animals, and with themselves. A working farm and food forests. Farm-to-table practices. Nature walks. A home for rescued dogs. And a space that keeps cancer survivors, and others navigating hard seasons, especially in mind.

Alongside it stands Jasper Jo Co., our nonprofit created in Jasper's memory, working to expand access to that mission so the Sanctuary can reach the people and animals who need it most.

Healthier People. Healthier Animals. Healthier Planet.

That's the belief this entire brand is built on. Jasper was the beginning. My diagnosis deepened the mission. And everything we build through Roots & Paws is helping create the Sanctuary. One course, one consultation, one better question, one woman, and one dog at a time.