Some adventure duos remind us that progress is not always loud, fast, or easy to measure from the outside. Sometimes progress looks like a reactive dog holding it together when an off-leash dog comes barreling down the trail. Sometimes it looks like stepping off the path before anything happens, practicing calm trail manners even when no one is passing. Sometimes it looks like choosing the hard hike, the new environment, or the big goal anyway — not because it is easy, but because the trust between dog and human has been built one small success at a time.
This month, we are honored to celebrate Erica and Tilly as our Golden Dog Adventure Duo of the Month.
Erica has been a member of the Golden Dog Club since November 2022, and in that time, she has attended nearly 100 in-person and online events. She is the proud dog mom of three, but this spotlight belongs to Erica and Tilly, her reactive girl, training partner, trail buddy, and one of the dogs who has helped show what confidence-building can look like when it is rooted in patience, advocacy, and understanding.
Tilly is not the kind of dog who moves through the world unnoticed. Like many reactive dogs, she needs space, structure, and a human who understands how quickly a situation can shift. Erica has been open about the challenges they face, especially when off-leash dogs approach them on trail. She has also been equally open about celebrating Tilly’s wins, like the day a loose dog charged toward them and, even though Tilly was clearly struggling, she managed to hold herself together with only minor barking. For a reactive dog, that is not a small thing. That is the result of work, trust, awareness, and a handler who knew exactly how hard her dog was trying.
What stands out about Erica and Tilly is not that their adventures are perfect. It is that Erica continues to show up for Tilly in a way that is thoughtful, realistic, and deeply committed. She advocates for her dog, creates space when needed, reinforces the good moments, and continues learning from trainers, educators, and fellow Golden Dog members. After one Golden Dog Pop Up Talk Zoom session with Ashley Clark of You and Your Dog Training & Services, Erica took Tilly out to practice pulling off the trail for no reason at all, helping Tilly learn that stepping aside does not always mean something stressful is about to happen. That kind of work may not look flashy, but it is exactly the kind of foundation that helps reactive dogs feel safer and more successful in the world.
Tilly’s growth has been beautiful to watch. Erica has shared hikes where Tilly encountered dogs, kids, bikes, and people without a single outburst. She has taken on big training days at Bear Brook State Park, including a 7.5-mile hike with nearly 600 feet of elevation, and she is once again training with Erica for the 20 Mile Mammoth March. For a dog who needs thoughtful support in the world, that kind of progress says so much about the relationship Erica has built with her.
Tilly also reminds us that reactive dogs are not defined only by their hard moments. She is athletic, capable, expressive, and full of personality. She is a pro at climbing activities, a committed trail partner, and, when the occasion calls for it, a very convincing lion at the Golden Dog Corn Maze & Halloween Paw-ty with Erica as her lion tamer. She is a dog who can work hard, play hard, learn hard, and still make people smile.
Erica’s impact within Golden Dog reaches far beyond her own dogs. At our 2025 End-of-Year Celebration, she became the inaugural recipient of the Golden Dog Pawsitive Impact Award, an honor created to recognize someone whose generosity, kindness, quiet leadership, and community spirit have left a lasting paw print on Golden Dog. Since joining in 2022, Erica has become one of those members who helps make the community feel like a community. She welcomes new members, encourages others, celebrates wins big and small, shares resources without judgment, supports local partners, participates in events, leads adventures, and shows up again and again for causes that matter.
She has helped raise thousands of dollars for rescue dogs and charitable partners through projects like the Pets of the 603 photo book with Sandra McCarthy Photography and the Best of the Best Yearbook contest. She supports fundraisers, local small businesses, community causes, and fellow members in need. She is one of those people who quietly raises the bar for what it means to belong to something bigger than yourself.
And that is exactly why Erica and Tilly are such a meaningful Adventure Duo of the Month.
Their story is about more than hiking miles or attending events. It is about partnership. It is about a human who sees the dog in front of her and chooses to keep learning. It is about a reactive dog who is given the tools, space, and encouragement to succeed. It is about celebrating progress that others might miss, but that means everything when you are living it.
Erica once shared that her pups, and especially her reactive girl Tilly, are grateful for the welcoming community Dakota, the first Golden Dog, inspired. That means more than words can fully express, because this is exactly why Golden Dog exists: to create spaces where dogs like Tilly are understood, where handlers like Erica feel supported, and where adventure is not reserved only for the “easy” dogs.
Erica and Tilly remind us that confidence is built through consistency, connection, and compassion. They remind us that reactive dogs can have big, beautiful lives when their people are willing to advocate for them. And they remind us that every pulled-off-trail practice session, every calm check-in, every brave new mile, and every celebrated win matters.
Congratulations, Erica and Tilly. We are so grateful for the heart, honesty, humor, and inspiration you bring to Golden Dog. You are a beautiful example of more confidence, more connection, and more life together.
