Ex-military dog handler turned soft in the world of animal welfare! I initially began my career working with animals when I was in the Navy. Shortly after coming home, I began working at the shelter in my home town, and have since been promoted to a few different positions within the facility. Going from working with military working dogs to animals that have little to no training was a shell-shock to say the least. But it helped me see the animals for what they were, instead of what they could be, and I went from the mindset of getting them to adapt to me, to me adapting to them. I quickly found my passion working with animals that had behavioral issues, working endlessly to help them past their trauma. I attended a mentorship where I learned skills on how to enrich the lives of dogs, as well as how to successfully get dogs into playgroups on a daily basis while ensuring I had the knowledge to identify different body language cues that would allow me to step in and correct issues before they escalated. I obtained certification to be a Certified Shelter Behavior Consultant (CBC) for both dogs and cats so that I could have a well-rounded image of how to help our entire population. I have fostered 8 cats and 8 dogs since my time at the shelter, focusing on the ones that needed help they just couldn’t get from a shelter setting. I have 3 dogs and 3 cats of my own. I enjoy the opportunity to show pets new things, as well as give them the opportunity to work on some skills they’ve needed to perfect, or just be there to cuddle them while you’re away.