About

I grew up in the Belgian countryside, surrounded by animals. As a kid, I learned to milk cows on a cousin’s farm, fed my great grandmother’s chickens, and played with my rabbit and cats as well as with the neighbor’s goats. I also rode horses, and spent lots of time with dogs.

My first dog Youkou was a rescued, very high energy Irish setter and lab mix. Three other dogs, big and small, later joined our home.

Sadness at losing these dogs, going to college, traveling, starting my teaching career and moving to Italy and then to the United States prevented me from having dogs for a long time.

While going to graduate school in Berkeley, I often took care of my landlord’s dog Marley, and seeing my then very young children interact with him reminded me of what I had missed all these years. In 2013 Milo, a loving and unruly yellow lab puppy, joined our family.

When I moved to Marin County from the East Bay, I decided to volunteer for a non-profit that trains service dogs, and a few years later, River, a smart and athletic German Shorthaired Pointer puppy, came into our lives.

Volunteering, taking obedience classes with my dogs, and leading group hikes for people and their dogs in Marin turned out not to be enough, however, to completely satisfy my desire to be around dogs and to learn about them and from them. Despite having a demanding and wonderful job in education and raising two children of my own, I decided to take a pet CPR class as well as to attend dog*tec to become certified as a dog walker and sitter.

I started Chez Anne (Anne’s Home), a pet sitting and dog boarding business with the hope of giving pets professional and personalized care. I am insured, and even though my primary focus is dogs, I am happy to dote on all your pets while you work, parent, or enjoy your vacation time.