The Maiden and the Tiger

By Carolyn Sloan

Spectator

NovaNewsNow.com

His lady embraces him as gently as a newborn, but with the familiarity of a dear old friend. Tiger, a senior feline in years, wears a collar of brightly coloured wooden beads, and is completely at peace as his owner Nahleen Ashton looks down at him lovingly, her face radiating delight.

“I have the utmost respect for animals,” she says. “They’re real. If they aren’t in a good mood, they’ll let you know. If they are, they’ll let you know.”

While he may have Nahleen’s utter devotion, even Tiger has had to learn how to share. Since moving to Tupperville two and a half years ago, she and her husband JC Mongiat have brought three other cats, three dogs and two horses into their homestead, all of whom seem to have come under their care as if by fate.

In addition to attending to her own growing family, Nahleen opened Góshé Pet Care, a dog kennel and grooming business situated on their property, almost two years ago. While she had ran a similar business in Quebec, it was difficult to purchase the right kind of property for a kennel with enough acreage to suit her needs. So when the couple were considering moving to Nova Scotia, they were excited to discover a wonderful old home dating back to 1890, with a property of six acres, a kennel building, and a barn.

“We saw this place, fell in love with the property, and that was it,” Nahleen explains. “When I was 14, my mother, brother and I moved to Digby… I always knew I would move back at some point.”

Nahleen, which means “maiden” in the language of the indigenous Apache people, has always had a love of animals. She chose the name Góshé for her business, which is also an Apache word, meaning “dog.”

“My father was fascinated with Indians,” says Nahleen. “He was a cowboy, or he would have loved to be a cowboy. He chose my name.”

It took some time to figure out how she would work with animals. In the beginning, Nahleen studied forestry, wildlife and animal sciences, but it wasn’t quite what she wanted to do with her life.

Ultimately, she became interested in natural medicine and wholistic approaches to health, and began to study massage and homeopathy. Having her own kennel allows her to apply this knowledge to caring for her canine clients. Even with grooming, Nahleen is able to use massage techniques on the animals.

“I have a wholistic view of things,” Nahleen explains. “Where possible, any animals that I have, I will treat naturally.”

As for the dogs, they seem to know they are in good hands, and as soon as they pull in the driveway, they’re looking forward to a vacation of their own, where they get to run outside, socialize with other dogs, and get some one-on-one time with their devoted caretaker.

“I guess it’s kind of like having a daycare,” says Nahleen. “You get to know the parents and the whole family.

“These are their babies. You have to treat them like that, because that’s what they’d expect. That’s what I’d expect.”