Mateo Erlenbusch
Mateo has been part of Buddy since its very inception. Recognizing Lilith's natural affection and talent with dogs, he encouraged her to build it into a profession, and out of their previous home in Bend, OR, Buddy was born. Soon after Buddy began, Mateo’s previous career relocated them to Truckee where Buddy slowly grew under Lilith’s full-time care and Mateo’s weekend and evening support outside of his travel-heavy corporate 9 to 5. In early 2019 Mateo was ready for change. He left corporate life and began entrepreneurial life, now splitting his work time both supporting Buddy and building his own small business as a nutrition entrepreneur.
Currently, Mateo runs Buddy dog pack outings every weekday morning. Moving his body for two hours in nature with a pack of dogs is a job-dream-come-true for him. He considers the daily physical activity and social connection strong medicine for both him and the dogs, especially within our beautiful local geography. Mateo also considers the cast of canines he guides daily, amazing teachers and precious beings that are a gift to simply commune with. The last couple of years of daily dog work has exposed Mateo to a fascinating new world of dog behavior and dog ways that remain a never-ending source of interest and growth.
Mateo’s professional background involves multiple chapters. From his academic credentials as a Registered Dietitian and clinical exercise physiologist, he has been a community college teacher, worked in clinical cardiac rehabilitation, on hospital floors as an oncology dietitian, and during the most recent 13 years for an international corporation devoted to chronic disease management within diabetes and obesity disease states. He now uses his diverse background and personal passions to help individuals prevent and manage chronic disease with simple yet powerful lifestyle steps. His favorite things in the world have remained the same for a long time: being awed by nature, endurance sports, hanging out with loved ones (especially Lilith), cooking, and rock n' roll.