About Joasis

The idea of “Joasis” has been forming for several years. Kudos to my ‘Bro Dale who named my home Joasis.  I love to train and play with dogs and I love to have people come over with their dogs. Once I put in the pool and diving dock, it occurred to me how much fun it would be to combine 3 of my favorite things together and start a business. It just so happens I have plenty of parking, covered patio space, security fencing, and a private bathroom/dressing room and I could easily open a dog swimming/dock diving.  Wooooo Hoooo!

I love my dogs and through my years of owning many different dogs, I started learning the more things I trained them to do, the more I enjoyed them. My satisfaction in seeing them grow and learn became a bit of an obsession. From dabbling in Obedience, Trick Dog, Agility, and Hunt Test, I saw how much my dogs love learning new things.  Then I put in a pool! My dogs would rather swim or dive than anything. I am really excited about sharing our space with you and your dogs.  I know they will enjoy swimming.  Learning to dive is as fun as it gets for you and your dog and competing with them in diving is a blast.  Whether you just want to let your dog splash around or you want to train and go to competitions with us, Joasis is the place for you and your family!

About Jo Dunham:

I have lived in the Oak Forest/Gardens Oaks and Heights areas for the past 26 years.  I have worked for an area home builder for more than 20 years. I love animals.  Jaxon and I have had a menagerie of reptiles and animals his entire life, but I really love working with dogs.  I have owned dogs from Yorkshire Terriers to Golden Retrievers.  I really wish I had known 25 years ago what I now know about dogs! We love living here and I am excited to be joining the eclectic group of businesses growing on Wakefield. 

I have been training dogs for years.  I am a jack of all trades and an expert at nothing. I was fortunate enough to train with John Gassner, one of the pioneers of the dock diving and fly ball. John is a 2 time world record holder in dock diving. He started me in my training and love of diving.  I have learned many things about dogs through all my cross training, but my love is being in the water with dogs and dock diving quickly became my passion.  Come join us and see why!

About Jaxon Cheshire:

Jaxon is a Junior at Heights High School. Jaxon is really good with little kids and all animals, especially dogs. He loves music, hanging out with friends and playing on his computer. His phone is his life as most teenagers. 

Jaxon has played in a variety of sports like soccer, basketball, cross country and most recently football.

Jaxon has become an amazing dog handler on the dock. Not only does he throw perfectly for our 4 dogs but he has been asked to throw for others like Livy Fly Dog and Miss Lily Grace.

Jaxon was the #2 Youth Handler for the South Central Region within the NADD. GO JAXON!

About The Goose:

Goose is a Field Bred Golden Retriever.  He is a lean boy who was bred for his intelligence, speed, and strength. He is one of the kindest and most soulful dogs I’ve ever known.  He is also one of the highest energy dogs I have ever known, which without proper training, can be tricky.

When he was a puppy, I started him in Obedience right away.  We took lots of beginner Obedience classes. He quickly earned his Novice and Intermediate Trick Dog Titles and then received his Canine Good Citizen award. We were training in Agility and it was frustrating. He was so excited about playing with the other dogs that once we were at a place to train off lead, it was hard to get his attention. 

A friend recommended I try training him in Hunt Test so he could live with a pack of dogs.  In the months he was gone training ( I got a puppy- see next section on Dr. Watson), he gained so much wisdom and he did indeed learn to calm down better in a group of dogs.  He is still a talker- he sounds like Chewbacca, but his chatter is talk not growling, and he loves being with other dogs. I am very thankful for his trainer John Gassner for teaching us about Hunt Test but also exposing me to dock diving!

I continued to work with Goose and we went on to finish his Junior Hunter title. This was a really big deal for me because it was completely different from any anything I’ve ever done. I had never touched a dead animal that I didn’t purchase from the grocery store. I’m still not a hunter, but it was really cool to teach my dog to do what he was bred to do, and I’m extremely proud of him. We would be continuing on with his Hunt training if we hadn’t falling in love with dock diving.  

About Dr. Watson:

Watson is a confirmation bred Golden Retriever.  She is my fluffy little chestnut bombshell! I have to explain her name because people always ask.  I named her after Lucy Lu’s Character, Dr. Joan Watson from the tv show Elementary (No, Goose was not named for the character in Top Gun). Watson is extremely smart.  While other dogs are playing, you will often find her sitting back, watching, taking it all in before she plays with everyone else. 

Watson has taken several obedience classes and has her Novice Trick Dog title. Watson loves to learn and loves to go to class!

She absolutely loves to swim. Whether it’s 4 AM and 40° outside or midnight and 100° outside, she wants to be swimming. She considers the hot tub her own personal little pool. She swims lap after lap and it is so precious to watch. 

Watson is so unique because she loves to play by herself. She knows which direction the water flows in the pool. She stands at one end of the pool and drops in her toy. She will wait until it gets a certain distance from the edge and then she jumps in to go get it. She does this over and over again. 

About Tormund (Lil’ Soggy Pie):

Tormund is the greatest accident of my life. I lost track of The Goose (seriously just 90 seconds) in the fall of 2020 and He and Dr. Watson and different plans. On 11/30/ 2020 Watson gave birth to 9 beautiful puppies. If you missed any of it go back and watch @GWPups on Instagram. I started a few days from before they were born and documented with videos and pics until they went home at 8 weeks. I call the entire experience my Golden Lemonade. We raised the puppies in accordance with the Puppy Culture protocols. It was amazing to experience.

Tormund was named after the red-headed wildling on Game of Thrones. It is a very appropriate name yet he is a sweet little angel. We are sending him to every class we can from the amazing Jan Nuzzo (campjan.com) at Smart Dog to the puppy classes at Believe In Dog. He is a smart cookie. He earned his Smart puppy, CGC and Intermediate trick dog title by the time he was 6 months old. He is currently training in Nose work at Krafty K9 and we are working on a little hunt training.

Tormund started jumping off the dock before he was 4 months old. In his first year he got titles in Hydro Dash, Air Retieve and earned his Junior Advanced titles. He finished out the 2021 seaon #1 in the Junior Division!! Stay tuned as he qualified to attend Nationals at the end of October in 2021!

About Rosie:

Just as many of our customers have beloved pups who they were intending to foster but then ending up keeping them, that is what happened with Rosie! I had zero intention of keeping a pup from our second litter, but I just love her. There is no other way to explain it. I am not married and do not have to ask anyone’s permission to do anything, so at week 4, I realized I was about to be a 4 doggy household. I wouldn’t want it any other way!

Tormund thinks we kept her for him. They are ALWAYS playing but she loves her Pappa Goose more than anything. Watson and I stay out of the way!

Rosie loves to learn and got her Intermediate trick dog title at 6 months old. She LOVES to swim and is the only one of my pups I have a hard time keeping out of the water. She earned her Advanced Dock Novice title at 8 months old!

Rosie’s favorite thing is BALL. The rest my dogs could care less about a ball. This girl was born to retrieve! I look forward to working with her this fall and hope to work on getting her a Hunt Test Title.

About Lainie:

Lainie is a former education manager with Houston Zoo where she combined her love of animals and training. She spent 9 years with the Zoo, first as a volunteer and then an employee.  Her favorite animals are snakes, especially cobras and rattlesnakes, and she enjoyed sharing those animals with Zoo guests. Prior to joining Houston Zoo, Lainie was training manager at The Blood Center in Houston, or as she calls it, “the head vampire” teaching new phlebotomists. 

Lainie and her husband rescue greyhounds and currently have two retired athletes-Lizzy and Finn- sharing their home and bed. Lainie prefers adopting older dogs who need special attention and care. They also have a geriatric rescue snake named Amarillo.

Lainie brings her passion for animals and training to the Joasis team.  She especially loves working with older dogs needing extra exercise and therapy. 

About Sara Leon:

Sara wears all kinds of hats. She is a seamstress, musician, baker, creative-artist, dog walker and trainer to name a few! She has a tender heart and is easily able to connect with pups of all kinds.

Sara assists our in house obedience trainer, Marcia Morgan in all of our classes.

Sara has also helped raise liters of pups using the Puppy Culture method including being a valuable member of our puppy team when Watson and Goose had pups in 2020.

About Mandi Newman:

Mandi is super excited to join the Joasis Team. She was excited when Joasis first opened and never thought she would be working here a year later! As an animal lover and a Pisces, swimming with dogs is a dream come true!

Mandi was a tremendous help when Watson had her puppies in November of 2020. She helped raise them in accordance with Puppy Culture protocols and Jo learned quickly to lean on her for her loving and patient dog handling skills. Mandi was a natural pick to work at Joasis! She is an information sponge when it comes it comes to learning about dogs and other animals. Mandi brings a wonderful new energy to the Joasis staff and can make any animal feel loved and comfortable. She is also the best Pool DJ out there!

Mandi owns her own in home pet care business, Mandi’s Mutts (Check her out on social media @mandismutts)

When she is not loving on furry or scaly critters, you can catch Mandi checking out local breweries and or hot spots. She also loves packing a bag to hit the road for a road trip!

About Francine Huang:

Francine joined us with our puppy crew for our second litter in 2022. She is also the face behind our Instagram page and one of our swim instructors! She enjoys creating digital content and sharing her passion and skills through our social media platforms.

Francine is a big animal lover and has four of her own, including two dogs, one cat, and a parrotlet.

When she’s not at Joasis, she’s likely snuggling her animal babies (bird included) and taking them on new adventures and hikes!

About Poetry Bostick:

Poetry joined our team in 2023 and is one of our awesome swim instructors. He is passionate about dog nutrition and enjoys creating scratch homemade meals for his pups.

His pack includes five dogs - two Dalmatians, a Dachshund, an Irish Setter, and a German Shorthaired Pointer!

When he’s not at Joasis, he’s usually out and about taking his dogs on off leash adventures!

About Emily Whitman:

Emily also joined our team in 2023 and another one of our awesome swim instructors. She enjoys helping dogs get comfortable with swimming and being in and around water!

She is a proud dog momma to two angels, Peach and Griff.

You can find her teaching yoga, making ceramics, or doing art related things around Houston, when she’s not at Joasis!