I have had a love for animals for as long as I can remember.  Unfortunately for me, I was the only one in my family that had this passion so I did not start on my journey with animals until I was thirteen.  At that time I had the opportunity to be given a nine month old colt.  My parents agreed that I could have him as long as I paid for everything myself.    It definitely was a love and passion when your only income is .50 cents an hour babysitting!  I would babysit almost every night to raise money to keep my horse.

When I got married and had a house and time for a dog, I got my first dog, Rolex, a germen shepherd.  I read everything I could about dog training.  My experience raising and training a young horse came in very handy.  Several years later, I adopted a young germen shepherd, Duchess, from the humane society.  My kids thought that Duchess needed a playmate.  I informed them that that was their job but liked the idea of a second dog.  I did not want just another pet though.

After watching a television show on working dogs, I decided to start volunteering with Guide Dogs for the Blind out of San Rafael, California.  Having experience with germen shepherds, I was given a 9 month old pup that needed to be moved to a different home to be raised.   Within a few months, I was a club leader, teaching other puppy raisers how to train their new pups.  I worked with both kids from the age of nine, and adults.  Guide dog puppies consisted of labrador retrievers, golden retrievers, golden/lab crosses, and germen shepherds.  I volunteered with “Guide Dogs for the Blind” for about twelve years.  I received a lot of training and experience during that time.  I also volunteered at the Guide Dog kennel in San Rafael one day a week for about two years.  During this time, Carlisle, one of the pups I raised, was dropped from the program and I decided to keep him.  When “Guide Dogs for the Blind” discontinued their germen shepherd breeding program, I taught a little longer but decided that I wanted to continue to raise germen shepherd puppies so I moved on.

While I had my dog Carlisle, I trained him in search and rescue.  He was wilderness and cadaver certified.  He was also trained in avalanche and water search but due to lack of snow or availability of a boat, we never certified.

I have been teaching group and private lessons in the Sonora and Angels Camp area of California for the past thirteen years.  I have trained a lab to aide his legally deaf owner respond to the door, and an Australian Shepherd as a service dog.  I just trained a germen shepherd who received her BH (beginning obedience title) after just five weeks of training!

After living in the Arnold area for thirteen years and the central valley for five years, I have moved on.  I now live and train in Oxnard California.