My name is Sophie Bowater and I have been dedicated and very passionate about animals since I was 7 years old, when I started rehabilitating injured wildlife. When I turned 10, I got a puppy who I named Champ. He was my best friend and he disappeared when I was 18. During the many months of searching for him, my eyes were opened to all the animal suffering and cruelty and that is when I really dedicated my life to animals. I studied Wildlife Biology and Speech Communications at Colorado State University and while there was the president and head spokesperson for Students for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. After graduating, I spent the next four years working with a Wolf sanctuary, a Farm Animal Rescue, and was a trained Homeopathic Wildlife Rehabilitator for Larimer County, Colorado. 

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I moved to Vermont in 2002 and started volunteering with Bear Swamp Veterinary Service, under Dr. Paul Alfarone until I was hired onto their team. During my years with Dr. Alfarone, I was privileged to work with an amazing veterinarian who was also educated in and dedicated to holistic animal care. With the arrival of my first child, I made the choice to stay home with my new baby daughter and started a Pet Nanny business to make that possible. Presently, I am also the head coordinator for the 4Winds Nature Program for my son’s school, serve on the Advisory Board for Protect Our Wildlife, and volunteer with Green Mountain Animal Defenders. 

As has become clear by now, I am passionate about the well-being of all animals. It's my life’s work. This passion has led to my desire to start a different kind of animal wellness site. Peace Of Mind Animal Wellness will be a site for you as practitioners, pet sitters, dog walkers, etc. to get referrals and for pet owners and animal lovers to find appropriate care, services and products for the animals in their lives.  I also want to use POM as an educational tool where I pick different local animal topics to write about as well as a list of animal education workshops or lectures each month. I am including a list of all the wildlife rehabilitators and animal sanctuaries in Vermont.

The basic premise of Peace Of Mind is kind of an AirBnB services locator for pet care. Providers and business owners would apply to POM and complete their profile with their pricing and availability. Then people all over Vermont would be able to go to one site to find and hire practitioners, pet sitters, groomers, farm animal caretakers, etc. available when they need them in their area. POM would take a small cut of the fee in exchange for the referral and the remaining funds would transfer to the designated bank account. POM will also donate a percentage of the profits each quarter to a different Vermont animal charity or non-profit. My eventual goal is to spread a version of this site to each state in the country while keeping it local for each state. 

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”
― Mahatma Gandhi

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