For as long as she can remember, Tabitha has had a strong connection with animals and knew that she wanted to work with them in her professional and personal life. Once she graduated high school, she wanted to continue to help animals and she went to school to become a veterinary technician. She graduated from Stautzenberger College and passed her board exam, becoming a Registered Veterinary Te
chnician in 2010. As a veterinary technician, Tabitha worked with animal rescue organizations and in general practice. Her work in these fields shed light on repeated occurrences of animal euthanasia and re-homing due to behavior issues, misreading of animal body language, and the suffering that animals and humans endured due to them being misunderstood. This is what first inspired her to become more interested and knowledgeable about animal behavior and training. She quickly became dedicated to learning about the root causes and permanent solutions to feline and canine behavior concerns. She began to teach herself about behavior through continuing education, workshops, speaking to experts, completing her Low Stress Handling and Elite Fear Free Certifications, obtaining her KPA-CTP through the Karen Pryor Academy , and became a Certified Cat Behavior Consultant through the IAABC . She has also received her Veterinary Technician Specialist in Behavior Designation . Keeping animals in their loving homes is her utmost goal – this reduces euthanasia as well as displacement of animals from their homes, where they often end up in stressful shelter environments. Helping people better understand and relate to their pets leads to a stronger bond and a more gratifying relationship between animal and human. Tabitha enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge and experience to help clients resolve, manage, and prevent many types of dog and cat behavior issues, such as house soiling, attention seeking behaviors, destructive behaviors, aggression, fear-based behaviors, tension between pets, introducing new pets, leash pulling, and fear and stress associated with handling and grooming. Tabitha also offers educational lectures and workshops to the general public, veterinary professionals, training, and shelter professionals. Tabitha revels in educating others through writing, behavior consulting, and lecturing on all things related to cats and dogs. This includes reducing the fear, anxiety, and stress animals and their owners often experience with veterinary visits, handling, travel, and medical procedures, socialization, preventing behavior issues, fear free handling, shelter enrichment and behavior programs, and more.
