Working style and personality

Organised? Even my socks are in alpha-numerical order

Planning

I am organised to a pathological degree. I looooove structure and organisation. A good to-do list is my idea of heaven, and I live for my agenda.

I value reliability a great deal, and I shall go through extraordinary lengths to stick to a promise, deadline or plan.

Documentation

I actually enjoy documenting my work. To this day, I systematically write audit-ready documentation of everything I undertake.

This habit of systematically taking case notes and meeting minutes is proving very useful in behaviour therapy, as it enables me to detect historical patterns and inconsistencies.

It is also providing me with a set of re-usable working templates. This enables me to concentrate on the dog rather than resolving inefficiencies.

Fact-based please

Graduating from two scientific degrees at University has but reinforced my already painfully cartesian, impartial and analytical mindset.

It has only reinforced my pet hate for memes. Memes are self-perpetuating but unfounded myths that spread by virtue of their catchiness alone. Truth is: nearly every time I look into something I took to be common sense, it turns out that the popular version is twisted at best, and a downright fabrication at worst.

I have carried this dislike for myth in my writing, where I take great pains to check from reliable sources before stating the information I present as fact.

I also endeavour to show balance and integrity when reporting information, even when some facts that do not sit comfortably with my personal beliefs.

Once an expat, always an expat

The melting pot

Courtesy of Yevé

With my multi-cultural background, I am an expat through and through. I have French/Belgian parents, grew up partly in the UK, and am now married to a Dutchman with whom I live in the Netherlands.

I have been strongly influenced by the Belgian, British, and French cultures, with a resulting:

  • self-deprecation, sense of the absurd and conviviality (yep, you’ve guessed, the Belgian bit);
  • The British upper lip, courtesy, discretion and sense of humour;
  • The Dutch efficiency and down-to-earth attitude; and
  • The French appreciation for aesthetics and elegance in language and photography.

A fresh perspective

I look at commonly held assumptions and traditions with a fresh eye, and with the perspective of distance. I enjoy putting my thought-provoking perspectives out there, when they question the status quo.

Patterns and definitions

I was once told that natively multi-lingual people were gifted at detecting patterns and defining the true nature of things. That touched a cord.

I make a hobby of formulating rules and observations. This has been a very useful trait in making sense of the multitude of differing opinions and perspectives on the subject of dog behaviour.

What is it with me and animals?

Empathy

I have always had the strongest sense of empathy to animals. Even as a toddler, I stood up to a bunch of kids torturing a crab. It got me in trouble a couple of times: I once pushed aside the torch of a US police officer as she was shining it in the eyes of a panicked and injured alligator. I got quite a stern reprimand for that one, let me tell you. I always approach animals with respect, and patience, and they seem to take comfort in that attitude.
I cannot abide the anthropocentric view that ‘Man is the guardian of all of the earth’s animals’. Ask my  husband, not always handy living with a wife who thinks that a fly has an equal right to live than, say, a human or a dolphin.
I cannot make sense of the appalling treatment that animals destined for the meat industry are subjected to, hence my decision to become a veggie a few years back.

A thirst for knowledge

I never cease to admire animal’s (and man’s) morphological design. I devoted my Bachelors degree to the study of animals from a scientific point. I am particularly in awe of the inventiveness and complexity of their behaviour, and go through reams of material on the subject of dog psychology in particular.

An uncompromising passion

My kid and I looking skeptical

As long as I remember, I have always had an obsession with animals. My friends know that if ever a cat, cockroach or fish cross our path, I’ll have to stop the conversation to go greet the critter.

I go particularly weak at the knee for overweight, short and stout dogs. The sound: ‘Oh my goooood, how adooooorable‘, at the sight of the most misshapen runt is getting infamous in our Dutch village. My wedding day was no exception: I caught sight of a Bernese and rushed out of the building, gazillion dollar wedding dress trailing in tow, to have a bit of a meet and greet.
So, the feel of a purring cat, the lick of a dog’s tongue, the whistling of a guinea pig, just keep giving me a kick that has lost its freshness.
I am addicted, in love, hooked, to animals, and I feel so lucky about it that it is the one thing in my life I refuse to over-analyse.

And more snippets of my personality

Combine the above with a crazy-enthusiastic, forward-looking personality complemented with chaotic creativity, and strong sense of the absurd, and you more or less get the picture.

My models and inspiration

I am greatly inspired by the achievements of Jean Donaldson, Ian Dunbar and Gerda Doedee.

Last updated June 2010