Growing up, my mother was instrumental in developing my love and interest in animals. When I was a child we always had a houseful of various critters such as cats, dogs, ducks, parakeets, turtles, and guinea pigs just to name a few. I was always drawn to animals and spent a lot of time not only caring for them but getting to know them and trying to figure them out. I enlisted in the USAF and serve
d as a combat medic during Desert Shield/ Desert Storm 1992-1996 . I continued my education while there and went to EMT Intermediate and Paramedic school. During this time I also became a CPR Instructor Trainer and an ACLS Instructor for the American Heart Association. I worked 911 EMS response while going to nursing school and graduated in 2000 and obtained my RN license. I worked twelve years in Labor & Delivery, but about two years ago I switched to the ICU. The greatest thing about nursing is that you can always learn something new! While change is scary, I believe it is essential to personal and professional growth. Lifelong learning is more than just a buzzword for me, it is a way of life! Needless to say, the last twenty years of my life have been primarily dedicated to taking care of people. However, I began to recognize and could no longer ignore the impact that animals have on our well-being. I have been actively studying the training of dogs utilizing positive reinforcement techniques for the last seven years and in 2013 graduated as a certified pet dog trainer from Animal Behavior College. After completing my mentorship and internship with Mutts With Manners, a local dog training company where I live, I joined them as their business partner. Fortunate for me, my business partners have extremely varied backgrounds in the zoo and aquarium industries so I have a wealth of knowledge to draw from. One partner is the past president of the ABMA and is the training coordinator for Greater Houston Search Dogs. My other partner is involved in a program that helps match shelter dogs with wounded veterans and directs their training as their service dogs. We are all full members of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers and I look forward to helping grow Mutts With Manners in the future. So far we have added a pet sitting and dog walking component and an online animal training supply store. My pack consists of three dogs: Spanky, Darla, and Bunny, plus a talking Nanday conure named Rasta. My dog Darla and I are a registered Pet Partner's team (formerly Delta Society) and I am an AKC Canine Good Citizen Evaluator. Recently I became a Pet Tech Pet CPR and First Aid Instructor. I think it is so critical that this information is accessible to everyone and that people are able to be comfortable and confident performing these skills in emergent situations! Our animals enrich our lives in so many ways, we owe it to them to take the best care of them so that they have the heathiest and happiest life possible. And certainly in the event of an emergency we want to make sure that we do everything we can to ensure they have the best outcome attainable.
