Sophia Hellenkamp (11) has known the neighborhood-renowned “dog lady” for as long as she can remember. Sarah Eishen, the local dog nanny, used to take care of Hellenkamp’s black lab, Shana, whenever Hellenkamp’s family was out of town.
“It’s like I’ve always known her,” Hellenkamp said. “When I was little, I’d always just see her around the neighborhood, walking the dogs. When I go to pick up my dog, I can see that she knows how to handle the dogs well, and the dogs seem to really like her.”
Robbie Gray (11) met Eishen, who he calls Auntie Sarah, in 2016. Like many of Eishen’s other clients, his family approached her to ask if his dog, Pablo, could join the group of dogs she regularly walks and cares for. Since then, Gray and Eishen have grown closer as neighbors, and Gray said he admires Eishen for her unapologetic individuality.
“[Eishen] became an icon around my neighborhood because she’s so outgoing and such a cool character,” Gray said. “I think she’s kind of like a movie character. She goes around with her same Speedster sunglasses every morning, yelling orders at the dogs and just making sure that they walk, and they walk for huge stretches.”
Earlier this month, Eishen was caring for her neighbor’s exuberant golden labradoodle, Archie, while his owners were away on vacation. In Eishen’s backyard, she squirted a garden hose and allowed Archie to chase the fast stream of water.
Eishen laughed looking down at the bouncing puppy at her feet. Archie was panting at her with bright eyes and his tongue lolling out the side of his mouth. “See, look at that,” Eishen said. “That’s what I do. I wear ‘em out. I love that.”
Archie is just one of 13 dogs that Eishen currently nannies regularly throughout the week and one of almost 70 dogs that Eishen has nannied over the past 10 years. Every Monday through Friday, Eishen leaves her home at 7:30 a.m. to make her rounds throughout her neighborhood stopping at five or six homes to pick up each dog. Others are dropped off at Eishen’s house by their owners for playtime when she returns home with the pack. She takes them, as well as her own two dogs, for a walk with their leashes attached to the leash belt, a belt on which the dogs’ leashes can be attached, on her waist. The dogs stay with Eishen during the day while their owners have to leave home for work, staying overnight if necessary. Eishen said that her experience as a dog nanny has allowed her not only to make so many pets happy but also to connect with her neighbors and community.
“I just continue to do this for the relationships I have with the dogs and their awesome families,” Eishen said. “I get to meet all these people around the neighborhood, and there are just so many great people. The effect that I get to have on the dogs’ lives and the humans’ lives is really amazing. I got to watch [Gray] and [Hellenkamp] grow up as I walked past their houses every day.”
As for Archie, his regular activities like playing with the hose are coordinated by Eishen not only for fun but also to allow Archie to use his abundance of energy before returning home at the end of the day.
“He is a little handful,” Eishen said. “I was able to have somebody keep their dog because [Archie’s owners] are in their 70s and he was too active for them. When Archie’s tired, then the mission is accomplished because then he can go home and not be so energetic.”
Ironically, Eishen hasn’t always liked dogs. In fact, she considered herself a “cat-only person” until 2008 when she visited the North County Mall and brought home her first dog.
“I saw an Italian greyhound puppy there at the mall, and we brought him home and named him Sammy,” Eishen said. “Sammy really changed my mind about dogs. I was walking him one day in the neighborhood and found a stray dog. She was injured, emaciated, and had fleas and worms, so I kept her and rehabilitated her. In 2013, my first client was a neighbor who just saw me walk with Sammy and the rescued dog.”
The rescued dog was named Lucky, appropriate for the fortunate turn her life took when she crossed paths with Eishen. The following year was when Eishen’s work as a dog nanny really began to grow as more neighbors approached her to ask for her services. As she was walking Sammy every day, Eishen began to enjoy fitness more. She said the focus on her health from frequent walking has influenced the symptoms she felt from multiple sclerosis, a chronic central nervous system disease that formerly hurt her ability to walk.
“There were times when I wasn’t as good at walking because I have multiple sclerosis,” Eishen said. “But I started focusing on my health in 2013 by walking as much as I can. That’s when this whole thing kind of took off.”
Since then, Eishen has taken care of many neighborhood dogs and gone on many walks, sometimes over 6.5 miles at a time, with the group, which she calls her pack. Though Eishen posts some of her favorite moments with the dogs on social media, she said it’s just to share happy memories rather than advertise, because Eishen now has to turn away all requests due to the large size that her pack maintains.
“A lot of these families that see me walk around with the dogs do end up asking if I could take their dog too,” Eishen said. “And these days, people pull over on the road and I have to say ‘no, no more.’ It’s sad that I can’t take their dogs, but I can only handle so many dogs at once. I just have so many that there has to be a balance.”
Eishen currently has two of her own greyhounds, Tequila and Emmylou. Tequila is a former racing dog and Eishen rescued Emmylou from a greyhound hoarder. Now Tequila and Emmylou spend their days playing with other dogs outside and sleeping on cushions.
“I love it,” Eishen said. “The weather is beautiful. I have so much fun. How can you not love this?”
