If you’ve ever been lucky enough to have a dog in your life, you realize just how special they can be.
We bond with them on a very personal level, and if you have children in the family, they grow up to love dogs, just as we did.
Every once in a while, we hear about a child that forms a special bond with a dog and it’s beautiful to see.

That was the case with this young girl, who has a special friend in a pitbull and the two of them are Internet heroes.
When you see the photos and videos they post on Instagram, you can see why people have fallen in love with this dynamic duo.
The mother hopes that it does more than just introduce her little girl to the world, she hopes that it breaks down walls and stops the stereotype of pit bulls being a bad breed.
There are many pictures and videos that will capture your attention when you look down through their Instagram page.
It’s the video below, however, where you see them interacting while she sings, “You’ve Got a Friend in Me”. It’s perfect.

I am broadly interested in how human activities influence the ability of wildlife to persist in the modified environments that we create.
Specifically, my research investigates how the configuration and composition of landscapes influence the movement and population dynamics of forest birds. Both natural and human-derived fragmenting of habitat can influence where birds settle, how they access the resources they need to survive and reproduce, and these factors in turn affect population demographics. Most recently, I have been studying the ability of individuals to move through and utilize forested areas which have been modified through timber harvest as they seek out resources for the breeding and postfledging phases. As well I am working in collaboration with Parks Canada scientists to examine in the influence of high density moose populations on forest bird communities in Gros Morne National Park. Many of my projects are conducted in collaboration or consultation with representatives of industry and government agencies, seeking to improve the management and sustainability of natural resource extraction.