For a girl that didn’t like dogs when she was young, boy has my life changed!  I didn’t like dog slobber or how my hand felt or smelled after petting a dog.  Now, my dogs sleep with me, lick my bowls clean, and yes, I will even share a spoon with them.  We had a dog that passed away when I was 10 and I did not get my own dog until I was 27 years old.  After one dog, I had to get another so they could keep each other company.  I have had up to 5 dogs at one time.  My first dog introduced me to the dog training world.  We tried obedience and tracking.  He was able to get a CD before tearing his cranial cruciate ligament.  When I got a more well-bred dog, I was introduced to the conformation world.  All of my pets since then have been Champions.  I have trained in obedience to a CDX, tracking to a TD, rally to a RE, agility to a MACH2, and conformation to a GCHB.  All have been Norwegian Elkhounds.  I started off with boys, but have found that the girls are a bit easier to train and want to please, the boys want to be loved.  I was nearly 40 when I started doing rehab on dogs.

I am so happy I made the change to treating pets.  A hard day at work is never a bad day when you absolutely love what you do.

I graduated from the University of Kansas Medical Center in 1983 with a BS in Physical Therapy.  Then went back for my Doctorate at Creighton graduating in 2003 at the same time I completed the University of Tennessee’s certification as a Canine Rehabilitation Practitioner.  I have not stopped learning in the past 20 years that I have been working with pets.  They are always teaching us to be better people.