V3 December 2023 by V3 Magazine

NWGA'S PREMIER FEATURE MAGAZINE / DECEMBER 2023

Training Day

Every dog deserves a home, and Blissful K9's Atom Gullo is on a mission to help those with or without one.

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Nurturing Independence, Promoting Individuality and Enriching the Lives of Our Residents

With over 78 combined years of senior living experience, you will be delighted to see how fast our team will help you feel right at home!

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‘Tis the Season to shop local RomeGa.com

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DECEMBER 2023 COLUMNS

Nina Lovel abandoned resolutions years ago; here’s what she does now.

The patients at Harbin Clinic Chiropractic & Physical Therapy Rome find a knowledgeable, compassionate medical staff that help them deal with challenges to their physical function, pain, and range of motion.

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FEATURES 18

Hardy Realty offers a charming home on 16 acres of fields and woodland at 423 Bailey Road, Rome, Georgia. It’s a lucky find for a buyer who loves the outdoors but also needs ready access to town.

Atom Gullo, owner of Blissful K9, teaches dogs and their owners how to coexist in a life that is full and enjoyable for both parties.

When it comes to babies, we deliver. For Every Step of Your Motherhood Journey, Our OB/GYNs Are Here

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Publisher's Note

O W N E R & C E O Ian Griffin It’s hard to believe another year is coming to a close and the holiday season is in full swing. For a month, or more if you decorate the week of Thanksgiving, our merriest and brightest versions appear in the form of special meals and treats, and decorations and we listen to music and watch movies that simply don’t make the rotation 11 months of the year. I’ve gone down my favorite movies before in this magazine and have already seen National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation at least six times this year thanks to my youngest son catching a bug for it. He can already recite some of the language-appropriate quotes...and I’m sure those not so appropriate as well, but not in front of me at least. Shame on me I suppose, but I watched it when I was his age and I’ve turned out above par, even if not by much. So, before I dive back into that topic, I’m going with the cliché top ten for Christmas songs to fill my column space this year. It wasn’t easy to choose, but here goes!

10. Dominick The Donkey- Lou Monte

I can thank my buddy Matt Davis for this one. It's campy and until I heard it, I didn’t know Italian Christmas Donkeys were a thing...but are they really?

9. So This is Christmas- John Lennon

It’s a melancholy tune for what's supposed to be a happy time of year, but it hits the feels and I’m a fanboy when it comes to Mr. Lennon anyway.

OWNER & CEO Ian Griffin MANAGING PARTNER Chris Forino

8. Carol of the Bells- Mykola Leontovych

I prefer the Trans-Siberian Orchestra version but had to give the nod to the original composer. It's pretty and eerie at the same time. Love it!

7. Fairy Tale of New York

The Pogues frontman, Shane MacGowan, passed away on the 30th of November this year. This song marries Celtic punk and Christmas music beautifully and hits the spot any time of year really.

6. Wonderful Christmas Time- Paul McCartney

I already gave his fellow Beatle a shout-out. Sir Paul gets one too...don’t we all just want a wonderful Christmastime?

5. Mele Kalikimaka- Bing Crosby, The Andrews Sisters

Holiday classics can’t all be earworms; I’ve uttered Sister Suzy Sitting on a Thistle 400 times this week and that song doesn’t make my top 100. Bing makes me want to hula by the Christmas tree. Now delete that vision of sugar plums from your head.

4. Christmas all over again- Tom Petty

We lost a good one when Tom left us back in 2017. This one nails the loop we’re on and feels more accurate every year I age. After all, it is Christmas, all oooover...again....and AGAIN, isn’t it?

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Elizabeth Childers WRITERS Jim Alred, Ian Griffin, Nina Lovel, Paul Moses PHOTOGRAPHERS Andy Calvert, Ivan Felipe AD DESIGN Elizabeth Childers PUBLISHER V3 Publications, LLC CONTACT 417 Broad Street Rome Ga, 30161 Office Phone 706.235.0748

3. Last Christmas- Wham!

This one has been imitated, but shouldn’t have been. Only Wham!, a band that requires an exclamation and their original version do it for me. What kind of cold-hearted person receives someone’s heart and then the very next day, gives it away? Here’s hoping everyone can give it to someone special instead. This is also a favorite of CMP Trainings Corey Pitts. Wham! Is everywhere!

hello@v3collective.com CREATOR Neal Howard

2. I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas- Gayla Peevey

It’s campy, and I have a dear friend who can match Gayla Peevey’s vocals flawlessly, so I get a live rendition whenever I can talk her into it. Be careful what you wish for Gayla, despite their cuteness, hippos are dangerous animals.

1. Charlie Brown Christmas- Vince Guaraldi Trio

It simply isn’t Christmas for me without this record in its entirety. Put it on, let it play and for me, it feels like Christmas.

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There are so many worthy of a top ten placement that it was really hard to choose, but I went with my first instinct and that’s where I landed. Love them or hate them, maybe it will lead you to one or two you like or haven’t heard. If you’re a humbug, your loss. Happy Holidays to you all and thanks for reading! See you next year. READV3.COM | DECEMBER 2023 V3 MAGAZINE

Let's Have a Word Here and Now

with Nina Lovel

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What’s your resolution for 2024? What, you don’t have one? Well, I don’t either, so let’s stay on this page together!

Years ago I forsook that self-imposed early January opportunity to beat myself up over failed resolutions. Before my resolution recovery, there were annual intentions to stop smoking and lose weight (wait, aren’t those mutually exclusive?) When I did eventually stop smoking it had nothing to do with January, and that weight thing morphed into a lifestyle. And anyway, Lent is always just around the corner and I do much better taking on a discipline for Jesus than I do for myself. Still, it’s hard to look at a fresh year and not hope and pray that at least something in our lives will get better. Maybe we dedicate 2024 to hoping and praying for our world and ourselves. Yes,

definitely that. But in case you’re looking for a little more focus, read on to find what’s worked for me this year. Seeking simplicity, I adopted a one-word theme instead of a resolution: “enrich”. “Enrich” is versatile, because you can both give and receive enrichment, and it’s easily applied to decisions: “Will doing this enrich my life?” Will this enrich someone else?” This little word has led me to write a note of encouragement, to bake lactation cookies for a sweet young mother, to carry food to a homeless man who turned out to not be homeless but appreciated the food anyway, and to join my talented young filmmaker friend Matt Parks and his colleagues in viewing the premiere of his fifth entry in the Rome International Film

Festival. As I sought to enrich others, I, too, was lifted up. If you’ve read my column for a while you’ll recall my tales of awe from the annual FLAME festival, a celebration of the flow arts where gifted performers trace beautiful patterns with fire in the night. (And no, it’s not like Burning Man.) In settings designed with impeccable attention to safety, artists fluent in the art and science of fire performance spin staffs, swords, poi, fans and hoops with blazing fuel-fired wicks in ways that enchant and amaze. Of course, the performers are fluent in the art and science of fire performance, but the safety of their surroundings must also be ensured. It was to this end that I found myself on a recent cool November night, cradling a red

fire blanket in the wings as a fiery sword blazed a hot path of orange and white and little spikey flames on a hoop twinkled and danced. It was the night that the fire came to downtown Rome, compliments of the RAD Eco & Arts Fest. I had eagerly reviewed my fire performance safety course and volunteered for safety. Enriching? You bet! I had the best view in town, and the artists were all so sweet and grateful. Come next year and see the magic for yourself. “Enrich” has been such sweet company that I pondered keeping it for 2024, but there are so many more great words available, I’ll be moving on. Here are some of my ponderings, and I hope you’ll come up with a list of your own..

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AUTHENTIC

We might as well start out with MerriamWebster’s 2023 Word of the Year, chosen not because there was any spike in searches for its definition, but because it kept a high trending search count throughout the year. You can do a lot with this word; it is rich with variations that include: “not false or imitation: real, actual: ‘an authentic cockney accent’”, and “true to one's own personality, spirit, or character: ‘is sincere and authentic with no pretensions’”. Source: https:// www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/authentic If you adopt “authentic” for 2024, encourage some of your friends to choose it too so you can enrich one another by sharing photos and articles you know to be authentic, curate those produced by AI, and even pinky-swear to be accountability partners in keeping true to your own character.

CURATE

As in, “curate your input”. I turned off all of my news notifications for Lent, and the absence of that overstimulating noise brought such peace to my life that I’ve never turned them back on. If I want to know what’s happening in the world, I go to my trusted media outlets and find out. This has been life-changing! I so wish I could convey at least the principle of curating your input to my fifteen year old granddaughter, but that firehose of social media and drama with friends has a pretty strong hold on her right now. Hoping and praying.

SURROUND

Would you like to be a little bit different than you are? Would you like to be more adventurous? More caring? Calmer? Even if you can’t change our stripes completely, it may be possible to soften their edges by surrounding yourself with things that reflect the person you want to see when you look in the mirror. Get a pair of hiking boots and leave them out in plain view. Sign up to volunteer at a charitable organization. Read compassionate books. De-clutter and Zen-ify your bedroom to make it into a calming space. Surround yourself with what you’d like to be.

ENOUGH

This word has such power to rein me in, I will never limit it to just one year of mindfulness. A torn-off calendar page from years ago reminds me, “You never know what is enough unless you know what is more than enough.” (William Blake) My corollary is, “There is nothing that I need.” What a lucky life I have, to have more than everything I need! It only makes sense to share, and ‘enough’ reminds me to do just that. Enough is a good enough word for us all.

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BETTER

Don’t we all want to feel a little better? Look a little better? If you’re looking for a low-pressure moderate-expectation theme for the new year, consider “better”; it allows you to define its accomplishment for yourself. “Better” can be done in baby steps, and it’s adaptable to any situation. You can do something small to make yourself look better (a nap, a facial, a smile), or you can do something big to make yourself look better (hitting the gym). Want to feel better? Try some little things (another nap, a heating pad, a cup of good coffee), and big things too (looking at you, therapy!) Some of these might even foster the others. You may ease into 2024 with “better” as your companion.

SMILE

Try smiling, on purpose, and for no particular reason. Try it in the grocery store, and try it in the car. You know how you keep running into the same person throughout the grocery aisles? Recently I was in that flow with a lady who smiled at me in such a friendly way that I felt sure I was supposed to recognize her. But that wasn’t it; she was just smiling, and not only at me; at everyone! She had a huge laughing-smile that made me feel like I was the cutest, sweetest person she had seen all day. Sure, I had on a bright and ditzy little dress, but I don’t think that’s what made her smile; she just had a lot of smile to share. It lifted me up. Now, when I can’t find the gruyere or don’t remember what kind of bacon I buy, I realize that my face is saying “frustrated, rushed,

and confused”. Then, I remember that sweet lady’s smile, and I put one on as well. It may not always be authentic, but paying it forward is the least I can do.

And finally

It’s not my column if I don’t go judge-y, so before I descend my soapbox, there’s a word that I’m going to shed for 2024: SHOULD. Okay, I’ll concede that there are a few reasonable uses for this modal verb (“If you’ll hit F5 to refresh your screen, it should display for you now.”), but when invoked as a commandment (“You should go to bed earlier”) or to imply obligation (“You should send her a Christmas card because she sent one to you”), or as a selfreproach (“I should choose the salad over the burger.”) it brings forth my bottomless scorn. My opinion must be born of rebellion; the word is just so bossy. A gentler alternative might be “I” messaging, as in “Y’know, I started going to bed earlier and I’ve noticed I have more energy.” Now, you know. Just so I don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater, I *will* admit that this word has one powerful truism: “Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should!” Apply as needed. I’ve said enough now–Here’s wishing you an authentically curated, blazingly better 2024! Note: Artificial Intelligence was not used in the creation of this column, but it did help me code a web script last week.

PRIVATE DINING

CATERED EVENTS

CREATING THE MENU OF YOUR DREAMS IS WHAT WE DO. WE TAKE YOUR VISION AND MAKE IT A REALITY. 413 broad street, rome, ga 30161 lascalaromega.com 706.238.9000 706.238.9011 READV3.COM | DECEMBER 2023 V3 MAGAZINE

PERSISTENT PAIN AND/OR A COMPROMISED RANGE OF MOTION CAN HINDER PEOPLE’S PRODUCTIVITY AND LOWER THEIR QUALITY OF LIFE. This can lead to a host of physical, psychological, and emotional challenges. The caring medical professionals at Harbin Clinic Chiropractic & Physical Therapy Rome pool their collective knowledge to help their patients maintain or regain good health. For instance, two of these professionals, Dr. Kenneth Wessel (physical therapist) and Dr. Mack Burt (chiropractor) guide their patients through a process that can quite literally give the patients their lives back.

Chiropractor Dr. William Hunter

MASTERING MOVEMENT

Chiropractor Dr. Chris Nelson

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Dr. Wessel was drawn to the field of physical therapy because of his fascination with human anatomy. When someone’s body is not moving like it should, he wants to help. “My patient is anyone with a movement dysfunction or movement-related pain,” he says. “That could be someone who’s postsurgical or someone that’s lifted something the wrong way and started hurting.”

mobility restriction or underlying weakness that makes their injury likely to happen. So, it’s not that people shouldn’t fix their bed or move that case of water, it's just that they need to be aware of their mechanics and doing it safely.”

NEW METHODS, SURPRISING RESULTS

Dry needling is a technique to reduce or eliminate musclebased pain with the insertion of thin, sharp needles into the muscles. “Sometimes people can have pain that won’t go away,” says Dr. Wessel. He goes on to explain, “For instance, a patient could be experiencing a lot of persistent pain and think they need surgery when dry needling may help reduce a large portion of their symptoms. When I locate the muscle that is knotted and causing pain, I needle that spot and the pain subsides incredibly fast." Dr. Wessel says, “When a monofilament needle hits a knot, it makes those knotted-up muscle fibers release and relax. Once it does that, whatever pain or tightness that knot was causing will go away.” He learned this technique during his post-graduate studies from a professor who was a pioneer in introducing dry needling in America. Dry needling is usually used as a tool in conjunction with other physical therapy techniques.

HEALING WHAT HURTS

At Harbin Clinic Chiropractic & Physical Therapy Rome they do manual manipulation, massage, and physical therapy. “We

Physical Therapist Dr. Kenneth Wessel

Dr. Wessel sees patients of varying ages. “As a range, my youngest patient is about fifteen and my oldest is eightyfive,” he says. “We see younger patients who tend to be more athletically inclined and have had a sports injury, but our most common patient is middle-aged.” When asked how people injure themselves, Dr. Wessel explains, “People tend to take certain movements for granted. I’ve seen people get hurt making their beds. Or someone hurts their shoulder moving a case of water. If you can imagine it, it’s probably happened. Usually, people don’t realize they have some kind of

Chiropractor Dr. Mack Burt

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have a unique blend here at our office,” says chiropractor Dr. Mack Burt. “We incorporate chiropractic and physical therapy. We’ve used this model for twenty-five years, and it can get you better quicker.” Each patient’s treatment is individualized according to need. For example, they will be evaluated, perhaps be adjusted, and then put on a personalized exercise plan. Dr. Burt explains, “Let’s say you have a disc problem; we may incorporate some traction and decompression to take some pressure off that disc and open up the space in there. Essentially, we’re looking to improve function, to take the pressure off the nerve, and improve the healing speed.” Dr. Burt says, “The majority of herniated discs occur around age thirty-five and are usually caused by wear and tear and degenerative changes. The disc weakens over time and eventually herniates. Some of it can also be congenital.”

STARTING YOUNG, STAYING HEALTHY

Some patients also come in for preventative care. Dr. Burt shares that some of their recurring patients are younger with the goal to stay healthy by investing in overall wellbeing. Other repeat patients are more seasoned individuals who are looking to maintain mobility and vigor. They work with the practice to improve body function, flexibility and balance. Harbin Clinic Chiropractic & Physical Therapy Rome is there to help, whether patients are dealing with post-surgical treatment, preventive care, or everyday aches and pains.

Chiropractor Dr. Chris Nelson

L-R: Dr. Chris Nelson, Dr. Mack Burt Dr. William Hunter.

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For more information, visit harbinclinic.com.

Merry Christmas from your friends at

THE ONLINE EXTENSION OF V3: All current issue content, archives and exclusive Read V3 digital features

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#LikeAWolf 16

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Southern Charm with a Front Porch View Hardy Realty presents a home that is both a lovely home and a quiet retreat in a bucolic setting.

text PAUL MOSES | photo LIVING STILLS PHOTOGRAPHY

hat can a family do with 16 acres of woodland and sweeping fields? One couple found out when they bought just such a property at 423 Bailey Road in Rome, Georgia. “We were going to build in the front pasture,” she says, “but my dad—who has always been a rock to me—looked at the property and said, ‘Why don’t you build on that hill?’” The problem was the hill was covered in forest. So, the owners marked a couple of large trees they would like to have in their yard and had the rest of them cleared from the site. They broke ground the day after Christmas 2006 and moved in during the summer of 2007.

20 | HARDY REALTY | HOME FEATURE

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Getting what they wanted

By the time the homeowners had bought the property, they had done a lot of research about what kind of house they would like to have. During the process of house shopping, they started collecting ideas for building their own place. She says, “Since we couldn’t find exactly what we wanted, we took the ideas we liked in what we saw and put them together—and I looked through hundreds of magazines—and I wound up just drawing it all out on a sheet of paper.” Then they gave that to an architect in Cedartown, Georgia, and let him draw up the plans. The result was a brand new house that had the look of a beautifully restored 100-year-old home, gleaming white in the sun. “I’ve always liked that vintage look,” she says, “but with all the modern touches and luxuries. That’s what we were going for, something homey.” Upon approaching the home, a visitor gets the impression of a stylishly old-fashioned house from its metal roof, whiteboarding front, row of double windows, and a deep covered porch that runs the length of the house. “The big front porch is especially important,” she says. “It gives the feeling of home and family and instant comfort and peace. And it gives us a pretty view of the sunset.” At 2,987 square feet and with four bedrooms and three and a half baths, this home has a sense of spaciousness inside without compromising that cozy feel. The large family room has a floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace (wood burning) and is open to the kitchen and dining area. “Everything leads from the family room,” she says. There are wide-plank pine floors throughout. Just off the family room is a small nook-style room that the family used as a playroom when the kids were small; this space would be perfect for an office or sewing room.

22 | HARDY REALTY | HOME FEATURE

Cooking, gathering, and room to grow

The kitchen is beautiful, with its stylish, multi-level cabinets—glossy white—stainless steel appliances, and granite countertops. The island seats three at stools and features a heavy butcherblock top and deep farmhouse sink. This space being open to the dining area and family room is perfect for parties and family dinners. Leaving the kitchen and passing down a short hallway, one finds a pantry with built-in wooden shelves. “And I love my laundry room,” she says, “because there’s plenty of room to pile my things as I do the wash, and there’s a utility sink, lots of cabinets, and space to hang up the clothes beside the washer. Steve Billings built all of this in the laundry area, and he did a great job, giving me lots of good pointers about what we could do.” The three downstairs bedrooms have full baths and ample space. Most of the living areas are on one level, but there is a large room upstairs as well. This can be used as a bedroom, playroom, or recreation space. Maybe a man cave? She says, “If we were going to stay here, I would definitely make it into an office.”

HARDY REALTY | HOME FEATURE | 23

24 | HARDY REALTY | HOME FEATURE

A time for new owners, new memories

When the homeowners moved in, they had two small children. “Growing up, the kids had fun with their friends riding ATVs all over the property,” she says. “And my husband’s brother bought fifteen acres next door, so that gave the kids even more land to explore. It was a good place for them to grow up. It was a lot of fun.” Now, however—in these empty nest years—it’s time for the homeowners to downsize. “Now my husband and I want to travel, which is hard when you have sixteen acres to keep up, so it’s time for a change.” “There’s wildlife around here at any time of the day,” she says. “We’re watching ten deer right now, with a couple chasing each other across the front field. When I first looked out the window this morning, there were about twenty turkeys putting on a show while three deer fed.” That sort of scene is growing increasingly rare in daily life, especially in close proximity to an urban center. So, for nature lovers on the lookout for plenty of elbow room, this property could be a dream come true. For more information on this listing visit HardyRealty.com or call Brooke Brinson at 706-409-3838 or email him at brinsonb145@ gmail.com

HARDY REALTY | HOME FEATURE | 25

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The

BLISS

Dog Ownership

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The dogs of Northwest Georgia have a tireless advocate in Atom Gullo, owner of Blissful K9. His dog training methods provide the perfect balance of compassion and discipline to make dog ownership a joy. Text: Paul Moses Photos: Andy Calvert

Dogs offer humans comfort, companionship, and a rare type of nonjudgemental friendship. Few things give people more joy than owning a dog that offers them unconditional love. Still, dogs are not replacements for human relationships. Canines are not people, and they require guidance, care, and leadership from those who take them into their homes and lives. Owning a dog is both a privilege and a responsibility, and living up to that duty often takes a proactive effort to educate oneself on the subject. Atom Gullo, owner of Blissful K9 in Rome, Georgia, has that brand of expertise that can teach a dog discipline and obedience, while also instructing the dog’s owner in the fundamentals of dog training.

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A Saturday stroll down Broad Street will quickly convince a visitor that Rome is a dog town. 30

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THERE ARE LOTS OF DOG WALKERS and many of the businesses keep water bowls on the sidewalks outside their doors. Such organizations as Blissful K9 and P.A.W.S. (Public Animal Welfare Services) work hard to see to the needs of dogs and to encourage responsible pet ownership. Gullo offers a Boot Camp program that trains dogs in such basics as obedience, behavior modification, and socialization. This work places a special emphasis on what Gullo calls “real-world training.” It’s important to him that dogs learn how to effortlessly meld into the lives of their owners without being intimidated by strangers or other animals. Blissful K9 also offers a more comprehensive training program as well. “In my Board & Train program, I take a dog home with me for two, three, or four weeks,” Gullo says. “I have them twentyfour-seven, and I work with them on anything

from obedience to whatever kind of behavior modification they need. Socialization out in public. I’ll take them to places like Home Depot or Broad Street. I’m a lifestyle trainer; I help you to enjoy your life with your dog, so you won’t have to leave him at home because he doesn’t know how to behave himself.” When asked how old a dog should be before it can be trained, Gullo explains, “Personally, I won’t train a dog until they’re vaccinated and can go outside, but an owner can start training a dog as soon as it can walk, see, and hear.” And regarding different breeds, he says, “Any breed can be trained. There are working dogs, like shepherds, and dogs more apt for sports. Some dogs are better in one area than another. Every dog has some sort of background in what they were bred for—herding, working, hunting.”

Rehabilitation, and vice versa

Atom Gullo’s career got its start in an unconventional way. “I got certified in prison,” he says. “It was a program where inmates took retired greyhound racing dogs and made them adoptable as family pets. A lot of them had zero training; they certainly were undomesticated. At the dog tracks, they were walked from their kennel to the slots to race, then back to their kennel.” This program used a personal, hands-on model. “Each of us was assigned a dog that stayed with us for two months, all the time,” Gullo says. “They even slept in crates right beside our bunks.” Through that program, Gullo earned a state vocational certification in dog training. He worked with six different dogs for two months at a time, and he won multiple awards for Top Dog out of the whole class. “Actually,” he says, “I had one dog, Tripod—who had three legs—and she won Top Dog over lots of other READV3.COM | DECEMBER 2023 V3 MAGAZINE

greyhounds. She went on to become an ambassador for a school for handicapped kids. Another of my dogs became a service dog for a lady who had MS.” Gullo points out that those kinds of programs don’t only help the dogs, they also help the inmates. It certainly worked for him. He explains, “I had been in trouble my whole life until I got involved in the dog training program in that Florida prison, but since then, I’ve never had any more legal issues whatsoever.” He rehabilitated those greyhounds, and apparently, they returned the favor. Gullo is interested in starting something like that here in Floyd County, perhaps in the juvenile justice system, jails, and prisons. It would certainly be a logical next step in his work. Fortunately, a working partnership with P.A.W.S. already exists. “I want to continue to make a difference in this community,” he says. “And I’m just one person—all across the country there are success stories of other people going through similar programs. When it comes to my passion, I love training dogs, but what really gets me fired up is working with shelter dogs—and being able to replicate a program that helps human beings as well.”

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Getting started

Upon his release from prison in 2016, Gullo began working with friends’ dogs and had a few private clients before establishing his own business. “In Florida, I had worked with dogs privately and through the Humane Society,” he says. “I began by volunteering with the local shelter. In 2018, I was doing twenty to thirty hours of volunteering—in addition to my private training—and they offered me a paid job. So, I wound up as a full-time trainer there. I was there a few years, and then I went to work for another Humane Society shelter as well.” Through those shelters, he worked with hundreds—maybe thousands—of dogs, helping them with all kinds of issues, such as aggression, fear, and abandonment. That’s what led to the creation of Blissful K9. A nearly fatal bout with Covid, combined with a toxic mold infection—in both his apartment and his body—turned Gullo’s life upside down. Not long after being displaced from home by this fungal infestation, he relocated to Rome, where he recuperated under the watchful care of his daughter. After his recovery, he established Blissful K9 in Rome. “I started advertising it, and that’s it,” he

says. Also, not surprisingly, he started volunteering with P.A.W.S., rehabilitating dogs, and helping them get adopted.

Respect and discipline

Clearly, Gullo applies a compassionate yet nononsense philosophy to dog training. When asked what kinds of mistakes people make with their dogs, he answers, “Too much affection, coddling them or talking to them like they’re babies. Dressing them up in clothes. Pushing them around in baby strollers. Letting the dog lead them, instead of being a proper leader for the dog. Allowing them to get away with too much. Not enough structure. Dogs have a natural desire to be led by someone; it’s a pack mentality thing. So, if we provide a clear leadership role and clear communication, they will follow, but that’s not something that just happens; you have to know how to do it.” Because of these issues, Gullo also emphasizes training for the dog owners. He explains, “They have to learn to be the pack leader in their dog’s life. Done correctly, we provide the leadership the dog needs, giving them a clear understanding of what is expected. We build a dog’s trust by leading them in such a way that they can look to us for guidance. You can see that with a dog that is properly honed in to its owner; they’re always looking to their owner as if to ask, ‘What’s up? What do we do next?’” According to Gullo, there is no typical timeframe for training a dog, nor is the process ever completely done. “It depends on the dog,” he says. “It doesn’t depend on the breed, either. Every dog is different. Really, it never stops; you’re always training. It’s like anything else, you have to brush up and practice—things get rusty. You don’t want things to go backward.”

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THE BLISSFUL K9 PACK L-R: JUICE, DOLLAR (P.A.W.S. RESCUE), CONASAUGA, LUCY, ALFALFA (P.A.W.S. RESCUE), & ELENA.

So many dogs, so few volunteers

Even with compassionate shelters like the one at P.A.W.S., there is always a chronic shortage of space for housing dogs and cats. Gullo has little patience for people who reject and discard dogs because of some sort of breed stigma. “The shelters are full of pit bulls,” he says. “Any shelter you go to, they have more pit bulls than any other breed. That’s because there are so many irresponsible people out there. Yard breeders. They don’t respect the breed, and they don’t know enough about it. They make them out to be a tough dog, and then the dog winds up with behavioral problems.” Sadly, many of these dogs are never adopted. Gullo adds, “Unfortunately, shelters do euthanize dogs; they can’t live there forever.” When people adopt dogs from a shelter, Gullo advises that they don’t take only one home. “If people have dogs,” he explains, “they should at least have two, so the dogs can have a companion. Just like humans need friendship, it’s the same for the dogs.” On this issue, Gullo practices what he preaches. He 34

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has six pit bull rescues. “Three of them I’ve gotten since I moved to Rome,” he says. “Two of them I adopted from P.A.W.S. One was found over in Garden Lakes; he was homeless, and they never found his owners, so I kept him. And my other boy, Alfalfa, was found by animal control in a treehouse. He was so shut down from fear that he couldn’t walk. They knew he couldn’t be adopted like that, so they contacted me. That day, I got him to walk out of the shelter, and he’s never stopped walking since then. Another one, Dollar, is short, stocky, and black. It’s harder to adopt black dogs because people are afraid of them. That’s called ‘Black Dog Syndrome.’ But Dollar is so well-behaved and fits well into the pack—and he’s good with cats—so I kept him.” There are many things a volunteer can do at P.A.W.S. It’s not all about taking dogs home. Gullo says, “It would be wonderful if more people could get involved with the shelters, for advocacy for dogs in need. Volunteers can walk dogs or even

just go and sit with dogs outside. Sometimes I go down to P.A.W.S, put a dog on a leash, and take it out in front of the building. We just sit there in the sunshine and watch the cars go by. Some dogs have been there their whole lives, and they’re scared of being out in public. No one’s going to adopt an animal that is completely terrified, so I get them out there in the real world. The real world is not a shelter full of barking dogs, but that’s all that some of them know.” For more information, visit Blissful K9 on Facebook or BlissfulK9.com. P.A.W.S. can be found at floydcountyga.gov/ animal-control or on Facebook at Public Animal Welfare Services

ADOPT ME! Blissful K9 fosters available for adoption

s k e e W

I’m Elisa, but people like to call me beautiful! I was abandoned with a friend of mine and brought to P.A.W.S. on January 30, 2023. It became so heartbreaking to watch endless people walk by my kennel just because I would get excited and jump for joy when I would see them! My time ran out on November 3, 2023, and I was saved by Blissful K9 and got to leave the shelter for good! I’m about 4 years old and such a magnificent girl! I love wrestling with my friends and having a good time! I’m a big fan of fetch and playing with toys! I do great on a leash and love to go on walks! All that’s missing from my life is a home to call my own and a family that won’t give up on me!

Vogue

My name is Weeks and I’m a very happy boy! I was brought to P.A.W.S. on April 21, 2023. Someone left me tied to a pole, but luckily, I was found by the Rome Police Department. My time at the shelter was running out but thankfully I was saved from euthanasia and pulled by Blissful K9 on November 6, 2023. I’m about 2 years old and a happy-go-lucky boy who loves to run and play with my friends from the shelter! I also have a black belt in cuddling! Thought you should know that! I’m a goofy boy and such a sweetheart! I just need a family to finally love me and call me their good boy!

Elisa Vogue here! And as you can see, I’m a model! I was taken from a disgusting living environment with 12 of my animal friends and brought to P.A.W.S. on December 15, 2022. I’m about 2 years old and such a sweetheart! I love training and have learned a lot! When I’m not strutting my stuff on the catwalk I double as a HUGE cuddle bug who LOVES attention and nothing more than lying on the couch watching movies with my human! Blissful K9 rescued me from the shelter on September 25, 2023, with one of my girlfriends Marcie! She has since gone to rescue and been adopted into a loving family! I really hope it’s my turn now!

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