I have been an animal lover for as long as I’ve been able to know as much. Caring for and surrounding myself with animals has been my mission in life and one I’m happy to say is quite easily done. I grew up in Austin, TX and have had a variety of pets throughout my life, such as: dogs, cats, ferrets, a spiny mouse, hamsters, rats, a snake, a water dragon, and even a sugar glider. ​ Because spending time with critters outside of work isn’t enough, most of my work history has been in the animal industry as well. I have 18 years of experience working in dog boarding, training, grooming and medical facilities and also have a degree in animal behavior and management. My love for horses and the outdoors even brought me to work on a small ranch in Rand, CO for a short while where I took care of a small number of cows and horses as well as doing other tasks around the ranch. ​ Not long after leaving Colorado, I found out about an extraordinary program that brought me to Southern California in August 2008. The Exotic Animal Training and Management (EATM) program at Moorpark College is where I earned an AS degree with certification in Animal Training, Wildlife Education and Zookeeping. Some of the subjects studied include: animal husbandry, training, conservation, behavior, nutrition, diversity, veterinary care and more. On top of the classroom curriculum, students also work hands on with a variety of exotic (and a few domestic) animals in the zoo, which is located on campus. During my 2 years of the EATM program I was lucky enough to work with an amazing selection of animals, such as: tiger, serval, wolf, binturong, skunk, agouti, scarlet macaw, blue and gold macaw, harris hawk, golden eagle, vervet monkeys, siamang, various reptiles, etc. During the program I also completed an internship at Nature of Wildworks, an educational outreach company, as well as an internship at Siegfried and Roy's Secret Garden, working alongside their big cat trainers. ​ Going through this program and spending a lot of time with several different species of animals has given me a wonderful insight to animal behavior. From years of experience and training in various positions within the animal industry, I aim to help animals and their people by offering a variety of services ranging from training and exercise to medical care or product consultation.