Gabriel Quiaios
Forest Rangers, since 2018
I started on my own on 1st August 2018, with a few dogs and this name. Within three months, my schedule was full.
How it started
First I had a job I didn't like. Then I found one I liked a lot: walking other people's dogs. Only one thing was missing, and it was a big one — my own dogs couldn't come with me.
That's why I went self-employed. Not to build a company: so that my dogs could be part of my days. Tila, her daughter Leïa and Simba are still part of them today.
It worked out far better than I'd hoped, and I've never changed course since.
The ranger is the dog first
A ranger is someone who roams a territory and watches over it. In the forest, my dogs did exactly that: they ran ahead, checked the bushes, made sure no animal was hiding there, came back. Meanwhile I walked, I thought, I looked at the trees. Each to his own job.
So the name belongs to them first. The one who goes into the forest with them is a ranger too, but the real rangers run ahead.
The best moment is just before
What I love most, apart from the forest with my own dogs, is coming to pick up other people's. Monty, for example: as soon as the door opens, he crashes into me as if I were a sponge. I ask him if he's ready, and he always gives the same answer: a big YEAH.
I've lived scenes like that several times a day since 2018, and they've never worn off. The job is hard: the cold, the rain, the mud, the long days. But that joy is what has always made me want to keep going.
Always there for my four-legged friends
Rain, snow, heatwave: the dogs went out. There isn't a morning when I get up without wanting to go. When you count on me, you can count on me. I have never left a dog in the lurch.
Boarding, for its part, is open 365 days a year, without exception.
Observe, trust, hold the limits
It all starts with observation. Before asking anything of a dog, I watch him: how he moves, what he sniffs, what worries him, what makes him happy. I trust him in order to earn his trust.
But always with limits, because a dog needs them: they reassure him, they don't lock him in. And on that, I'm uncompromising. A red flag is a red flag: you don't pretend you haven't seen it. When I need to react, I react, and always fairly towards the dog. In the forest, I lead the pack, otherwise nothing holds.
Let a dog be a dog.
No two dogs are alike
One needs to run, another to sniff, a third to walk beside me without asking for anything. That's what my walks are for: meeting each dog's needs, just as he is.
I don't try to change them. I find them a place, and they take it.
Twelve families have been with me for more than five years
It's the number I care about most. In this business, people change provider at the first problem, and this one was built outing after outing.
Being in the forest with my dogs is what I love most in the world. Having made it my job is a luxury, and sharing it with other people's dogs is what makes it interesting.
I work with people who care about their dog and expect serious work. That's exactly the relationship I'm looking for.
Gabriel Quiaios
Founder, Forest Rangers