I had a dog growing up, very high energy, not well matched to the family, which taught me importance of understanding different breeds and that certain pets need very different care from others of the same species. I started working with a shelter about 5 years ago, and was dog sitting for about a year and a bit before that, before adopting my Petra, (7kg, all fluff, no bark), and more recently, one year ago found Mina (3kg) on the street and took her in. These 2 girls immediately became attached and the best sisters, that many people think they are actually related. They are great with cats, and Petra had learned to be good with my pet turtle I had for 10 years back in Canada as well. If I could have brought Gertrude with me to Europe as well, I would have :)
Working with the shelter, I interacted with dogs of many different situations, blind, deaf, physically injured / disabled or at the very least a history of Trauma.