I have always had a love for animals. I grew up caring for animals and enrolled in an agricultural high school where I took classes in a wide variety of topics including my “major” Animal Science. During this time I was a member of my school’s FFA and was even a member of the Veterinary Science team that competed at local and regional competitions. During this time I not only was introduced to the science end of animals, but also began to learn about dog training. I worked at a local dog boarding facility for 3 years before leaving for college. I attended college at Mt. Ida in Newton, MA where I obtained my Bachelor’s of Science in Veterinary Technology. During that time I was a kennel manager at my school’s USDA facility and also worked a number of dog related jobs and continued to learn about training. I interned at multiple amazing business and facilities during this time where I learned a ton! During this time I also fostered many dogs (including deaf and blind dogs) and in 2011 I adopted my first dog, Sarafina.

Fast forward to today; I am a Certified Veterinary Technologist, Certified Canine Fitness Trainer, and a FitPAWS Master Trainer! I got introduced to the canine fitness world in 2013 when I first started working at a physical rehabilitation center for dogs. I had just began to compete with my Sarafina in several sports and saw the value and the need for canine fitness and conditioning. Most people discover the fitness world once their dog is injured and in rehab. It is my goal to help spread knowledge of canine fitness for dogs (especially athletes) before they get injured!

I currently have five dogs who are my loyal and underpaid exercise testers! Sarafina is an Australian shepherd/border collie mix; Aviva, Meira, and Soba are Belgian malinois; and Soren is a Dutch shepherd/whippet mix. I compete and train in a variety of sports with them including flyball, dock diving, disc, ring sport, and a lot more!