Maggie came to me in May of 2022, when her owner brought her into her vet's to be euthanized for behavioral issues, including aggression. Her vet convinced her to surrender her instead, and she contacted me to see if I wanted her. Since working with me, and being shown compassion, understanding, patience, and communication, she has blossomed into a truly special girl.

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You might see her in classes demonstrating, or as a "baby sitter" in mild dog-reactivity cases. 

Chester was truly a special dog: the dog that even non-dog people loved. He was a stray I found wandering around my apartment complex. He was suspicious of me, but jumped into my lap and followed me home. He had no tags, no chip, no responses to posters, and the complex's office had been trying to catch him for over a month to no avail. He wouldn't let anyone near him. After years working on his fear of humans and dog reactivity, he became everyone's favorite dog, even to non-dog people

Jag is the family dog who taught me to learn from my mistakes. He was abandoned at a vet's office as an 8-week old puppy, where he was brought to the shelter and we adopted him. He had so many behavioral issues, and all of our small town trainers used dominance theory training methods. I saw the direct result of those methods, and vowed to learn a better way. He taught me the joy of playing with a dog who wanted to play: we loved playing soccer and volleyball with his SpongeBob ball!

Growing up with parents who weren't big animal people, having a dog wasn't a given. My older sibling and I wore them down, and eventually we got Pugsy, a black pug. She sparked that obsession. I quickly learned about agility and wanted desperately to do it - not exactly a great match with a pug. She put up with my childhood antics (what a saint of a dog) and was the best cuddler you could ask for. Always glued to my side with every sick day. When she passed, that was when I learned I always need a dog in my life.