Angela Watson is a dog lover who developed a knack for coaching (and an obsession for dog sports).
She came from a family of farmers and country folk, but was raised amongst the chimneys of the industrial West Midlands. She grew up reading historical novels by Jean Plaidy, and mystery/adventure books by Enid Blyton. At school she played a violin and swam for the school, and for a club nationally. She dreamt of one day living in a cottage in the country, with wonky beams, and honeysuckle over the door, solving mysteries and having adventures during warm lazy dog days of summer.
After the unexpected death of her mother, at the age of 18 she went to Portsmouth Polytechnic to study a degree in Cultural Studies. She got involved in animal rights and sabotaging local fox hunts, got into the local punk scene, and within a year she dropped out of Uni, but stayed in the area. She worked as a cook and carer in a couple of Care Homes, and became a personal carer for a lady with Multiple Sclerosis. She soon realised that Care was her vocation and trained to be a Nurse. She qualified as a Registered Nurse in 1991, bought her first house, and three years later was awarded a BA Hons In Public Sector Health Management which she’d studied for whilst working full time on the wards. At the age of 30 she got married, then quickly got divorced.
Her career took off. Being a person who doesn’t conform, she took a less traditional career route and quickly progress through the nursing ranks into management, only to find she hated the bureaucracy. She realised what she loved most about her work was supporting people through difficult times (patients) and helping people grow and develop. Seeing the spark of realisation in the eyes of the people she managed as they grew in confidence, and realised their potential, was intoxicating. She wanted to do more of that.
Once she realised her passion for Coaching, she left full time employment and turned her journey towards Coaching and Training, as an independent Corporate Coach and Trainer. She filled those next years increasing leadership capability and developing a coaching culture, in Healthcare Organisations, whilst building a small private coaching practice. For 10 of those years she also worked as a principal trainer with a leading coach training company, and trained thousands of professional coaches and leaders in the art and science of Executive Coaching. She listened to people’s stories in the training room and turned her lived experiences as a coach, dog trainer, and human being into stories that would shape their understanding of coaching, as they developed their practice.
After 17 years of leading a successful consulting business, she found herself drawn to a deeper, more profound way of making a difference in the world, and when the pandemic happened, she felt called to create online workshops to help people in her community de-frazzle and de-stress. She also created planet friendly, tree planting Tree-Shirts with the message LOVE LIFE on them. People from all walks of life attended the workshops and bought the T-shirts, but what all had in common was a love for dogs, the outdoors, and a deep curiosity about the human experience – which resulted in the birth of Mellow Dog Mumma. Now, she helps dog lovers and outdoor enthusiasts from all professions, specialties, disciplines and expertise, to de-stress their lives, build good businesses, and live in a way that feels good, by unravelling the mysteries of what gets in the way of living a peaceful and meaningful life.
Angela believes dreams can come true. Nestled in the Hampshire countryside, in a pretty cottage with wonky beams and honeysuckle growing around the door, is where you’ll find Angela overwintering with her partner Mark, and their two dogs, Jasper and Berty, and occasionally their 2 grown up children. In the summer, there’s nothing she loves more than to spend time on the road, travelling the UK with the dogs, camping in remote fields, whilst putting the dogs through their paces at the best Obedience shows in the country – winning awards and accolades along the way.
Check in with her blog, to see how the story continues!
Welcome To The Paddock 