Providing treadmill exercising for dogs has given Jake an “ultimate form of mindfulness”; something he simply couldn’t master while experiencing the “anxiety, shortness, anger and crankiness” that caught up with him in previous employment.

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Jake realised he was on the edge of a breakdown and exhaustion, having been engaged in high stress and conflict roles from the age of seventeen.

“[I was in] denial about my mental health, the emerging effects of deployment war PTSD, and the trial by fire experienced during the probationary period in the paramedics,” he said.

With a young son depending on him, Jake determinedly set about “getting on top of my mental health”.

With professional help, he learned the skills needed to identify his triggers and de-escalate intrusive thoughts and feelings of being overwhelmed.

“I [now] feel totally present and able to flick a switch that grounds me immediately with each dog, instinctively understanding the work that will be needed to build immediate trust and rapport,” he told the News Of The Area.

Jake triages the pups in his care to assess how best to navigate and coach them through any fears, anxiety, confusion, phobias and sensory issues.

He has “zero regrets” about buying and repurposing an ex-ambulance van as his mobile training base, effectively flipping a negative association into one decidedly positive.

“Dogs make me happy,” he said,

No canine was more life changing than Jake’s Catahoula cross adoptee, Sully.

“I found him at the right time with an energy that demanded my attention and the re-training of a brain that felt stale.”

Camouflaged beneath Jake’s imposing stature is an emotional and sensitive heart, which has enjoyed growing Run-A-Mutt.

All the patience acquired when fly fishing, the mentorship shared when engaged in peer support youth work, and the background in strength and conditioning coaching, has given Jake an edge that makes him a dog person with a difference.

Jake dips into his specialised skill set of desensitisation conditioning, learned awareness, environmental observation, and acute listening, to read each dog and their idiosyncrasies and energy.

He then determines an approach that unbridles each dog’s best.

Some dogs thrive in interval sprints whereas others merely like to trot, chat, and eat treats.

Helping anxious owners, working breeds, and those who need some extra TLC, has meant that, serendipitously, Jake also feels rescued.

By Jacie WHITFIELD