Helping Animal Shelter Volunteers and Dog Parents Feel Good is Kind of My Thing...
YOU MIGHT HAVE SEEN ME FEATURED IN:
I'm Katya—writer, breathwork guide, grief coach, and feelings champion for those who give their hearts to animals, their own or someone else’s.
After fostering over 70 dogs and experiencing both the heights and the depths of its benefits and burnout, I've discovered what truly sustains a heart-led human: turning tenderness inward onto ourselves, no longer outsourcing it, but instead allowing in the love we’ve been wishing for and giving to everyone else. We are in charge of our own bloom.
My journey is woven together by stories of creativity & compassion.
As a recovering actress and as a writer, I understand the healing that comes from expression and art-making. As a certified dog trainer, senior dog foster, and animal advocate, I've walked the paths of stress and grief to learn that self-discovery and self-empathy are necessary to cultivate inside ourselves in order to shine compassion out onto others.
What I've found through both personal and professional experience is that fulfillment comes when we grant ourselves the space to process, integrate, and reconnect with our essential self, our authenticity. When we stop abandoning or ignoring our true nature, we realize we are whole and capable, brave and valuable, unique and important just for BEING. We stop keeping away what we most want and FEEL into it in the present moment. It happens with your body, with your breath. It takes nothing away from the animals we love. It is only when we resource ourselves and pour back into ourselves that we recognize how much more we have to give.
My Credentials
Certified Trauma-Informed Breathwork Facilitator
Certified Creative Grief Coach
Certified Family Paws Educator
Certified Positive-Reinforcement Based Dog Trainer
Experience fostering 70+ dogs
Professional writer and performer
Harvard Graduate School of Education
New York University Tisch School of the Arts
My Mission
To help you love without losing yourself in the process.
I Can Help You Do Your Best with Ease, Joy, and Balance.
I believe we are all capable of serving and connecting with heart, enjoyment, resilience, and empowerment. But too often, the very work or relationship we are passionate about becomes a thing that drains us. My mission is to help you reclaim your energy, process the emotional intensity of the areas in your life and work that are leaking your joy, and guide you back to a place that feels good for you. I don’t want you to have to leave the animal shelter world to be okay… you can spend time there AND be okay. I don’t want you to have to get rid of a pet to be okay… you can stay with this dog, the one who might be driving you crazy but is in your life for a reason, AND be okay.
"Our session was the re-set that my body and mind needed. The impact of one session has been significant; I feel different and better, both physically and mentally."
-Suzie, from Texas Pets Alive!
"Breathwork with Katya is a joy, a grounding, a gift, a homecoming. She makes everyone feel so seen and so supported. What an exceptional guide."
- Sue Kate, writer
My Journey Helps Me Support You
My path has been anything but linear. I know that the animal welfare world is full of ups and downs. Whether it’s the exhilaration of volunteering at a new shelter or bringing home a new foster, whether it’s the emotional weight of years of advocacy done without a break or the unwavering commitment to the welfare of animals, I know how heavy the toll can be. I understand both the devotion and the struggle that comes from doing meaningful work that is motivated by a place deep inside of you.
If you’ve got a dog you’ve adopted, but things aren’t going well, I’ve been there! As someone who has fostered A LOT of dogs (many of them seniors whose last chapter was with me), as someone who has volunteered on and off at various shelter systems, and as someone who has rescued all types of dogs (many of them challenging AF), I know firsthand how burnout, compassion fatigue, and emotional exhaustion can sneak up on you. That’s why I combine breathwork, creative expression, and grief support to help you process your emotions, stay grounded, and keep showing up for the animals you love, without sacrificing your health or happiness. There is something to learn here. Something to grow into. Something for YOU.
Fun Facts About Me
(Because Why Not?)
Here are a few things that light me up:
🐾
I love feet (Yes, you read that right! It’s not an Only Fans thing—don’t judge me!) Feet - and paws! - say SO MUCH about someone. I see you, the goofy you, there in your lower extremities 🙂
🎶
I’m obsessed with Tina Turner’s voice. There’s just something about her raw power and passion that makes her one-of-kind perfect in my eyes and ears. All that divinely feminine grit.
🖊
I can’t get enough of e.e. cummings’ poetry—he speaks to my creative soul. He wrote in accordance to feeling, not necessarily in line with grammar rules, but with the heart.
Having read what I’ve written above, these may go without saying, but:
→ I consider cringe a love language.
→ I love the weirdos, I run towards them, I am one of them! Your authenticity will not cost you my affection.
→ My domain of choice is invisible spaces and the relationship between things, tuning into what is being ignored, and how things connect. Access is what I came with and I’m honored by it. Mystics, let’s join forces, the world needs us.
→Quirky bits remind me that life is beautiful, messy, and meant to be enjoyed—and that’s the vibe I want to bring into everything I do with you and the animals you’re lucky enough to know (and be known by.)
How We Can Work Together
For Dog Parents
IT'S TIME YOU PRIORITIZE BONDING WITH YOUR DOG AS THE WAY TO ELEVATE THE RELATIONSHIP AND BE YOUR BEST SELF.
Through breathwork and free writing, wellness tips and mindset work combined with dog training tools, you will uncover the connection you and your dog have been brought together for. Let it be unique. Drop into presence. This love is in your life for a reason. Don’t miss out on your own evolution.
For Animal Volunteers
IT'S TIME YOU TOOL CARE OF YOURSELF AS MUCH AS YOU CARE FOR ANIMALS IN ORDER TO AVOID BURNING OUT.
Discover how to reduce stress, develop more empathy, and empower yourself as a volunteer. Gathering in community can help you process feelings and enjoy some balance in an inherently painful environment. Continue your meaningful work with animals while tending to your own wellbeing.