Buster’s Bond is growing! 🖤 Join us and see what arrives in your mailbox each month.
His presence created a bond with our family, with me, and with the children he worked alongside.
That bond is the legacy he left behind.
Let's carry that bond forward.
Slow down. Connect. Make memories.
Buster started life with a lot of big feelings that came out as big body energy. With time, patience, guidance, and ice cream (I know....I know....he loved it though🤫), he became a joyful soul who loved every single person he met. For 6 years, he spent time in my office participating with kids through a range of animal-assisted activities that showcased obedience, problem-solving, and nurturance, bringing calm and confidence to the kids. He retired an office hero, crossed the bridge peacefully, and his story and work will live on for anyone who wants it. 🌈
Buster had a way of helping children feel understood.
But his story isn't really about a dog.
It's about connection.
It's about what happens when we slow down enough to notice what a child is communicating, when we make room for big feelings instead of trying to make them disappear, and when we build relationships that help children feel safe enough to grow.
I created Buster's story to help families understand childhood anxiety in a different way.
It will always be free.
No email required.
No credit card.
No catch.
Just Buster's story, waiting for you.
Disclaimer: I am sharing this as a resource for you. It is meant to be educational and supportive. I am asking you to be cool with it as is. This is not meant to be therapy nor does it imply a therapeutic relationship. Every family and child is different, and this content is not a substitute for individualized mental health care. Thank you and take care.
There are moments in life that are easy to miss.
A conversation in the car.
A walk around the block.
A shared bowl of ice cream.
A child climbing into your lap.
A ridiculous laugh that nobody planned.
These moments may not look important while they're happening.
They are.
Buster's presence reminded me that relationships are built in these ordinary moments.
So I'm creating a little something to help us notice them.
When you join Buster's Bond, something will arrive in your mailbox each month.
Sometimes it might be a story.
Sometimes an invitation.
Sometimes an idea to try together.
And sometimes, I'll ask you to tell me what happened.
Because I don't just want to send things to you.
I want to see what happens when Buster's bond becomes part of your family, too.
CALM Paws is my approach to helping parents respond to anxious children without letting anxiety take over the family.
It is built around three things:
You don't have to teach your child how to stop being anxious. You can learn how to respond in ways that give them room to grow.
I'm sharing what I've learned from years of working with children and families—including the things that seem obvious to me now but took years of experience to figure out.
We'll talk about childhood anxiety, parenting, relationships, and what actually happens when big feelings show up in real life.
Some of it will be practical.
Some of it will challenge the way we've traditionally thought about anxiety.
And some of it will simply remind you:
You're raising a human being—not a problem to be fixed.
That's really what all of this comes back to.
The relationship between a parent and child.
The relationship between a child and the world around them.
The relationships that help us feel known, understood, and connected.
And the relationships that make the ordinary moments of life worth remembering.
Buster taught me a lot about that.
I hope his bond can become part of your story, too.
— Erin