Tikaboo Teaches Dog Care

My formal teaching experience is English Language Support tutor in Irish primary schools and private French and Spanish tutor to secondary school students preparing for their final year examinations. I have been invited to schools as a visiting author to present my Tikaboo Tales books, which contain the message of how necessary it is to show empathy towards all species - including ourselves! I also developed and facilitated community and school wildlife-appreciation workshops for a rural development government programme in County Cork.

I tend to use the third person plural in my informational texts and write about how "we can do this ......" as opposed to "you should", etc. This is to highlight how we can all be mindful of our behaviour and treatment of animals - including teachers! Also, I don't use multiple choice questions which, in my mind, prompt answers instead of thought. This way, students have to consider and interpret how my teaching materials on animal care actually apply to them in real-life settings and supply individual and original answers .

Encouragement and support from the parents and teachers of the students I've tutored as well as book sales!

My educational qualifications are in languages and Animal Science. I have a Master of Arts in Translation Studies from Dublin City University, a Bachelor of Arts in French and Spanish (with Portuguese as a minor) from University College Dublin, a post-graduate Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults (CELTA) and a diploma in Animal Science (Associates Degree) with an emphasis on animal behaviour, welfare and veterinary science. I had to undertake one-year of clinical practice, which qualified me as a Veterinary Nurse. I'm also self-taught illustrator (still learning!). All of the illustrations in my lessons, products and books are my own.

Although the veterinary nurse might seem to be in the perfect position to educate customers about optimal animal welfare, no matter where I went for my veterinary student clinical practice, it seemed that very few clinics allowed enough time for education. Thus began my compulsion to create educational material that might help fill this informational gap between vets and animal carers. So I came up with several lessons covering various topics from ethics and evolution to behaviour and health that hopefully assist people in experiencing a harmonious bond with their animals, especially dogs.