Throughout my childhood my family always had pets. I began working as a dog walker in junior high. During that time, I also fostered dogs for the Carver Scott Humane Society. I learned how to gain trust and communicate with the dogs I fostered. My work with the rescue dogs inspired me to achieve a BS in Veterinary Technology from NDSU. I learned a great deal from my time at school, and I graduated magna cum lade. I am a licensed veterinary technician in North Dakota. Since graduation, I have become Fear Free Elite Certified and Low Stress Handling Silver Certified. I have attended many continuing education events focused on animal behavior and participated in a weeklong internship with two different board certified veterinary behaviorists. I have loved all the opportunities to learn more about the science and application of behavior modification and training. I have logged over 4,000 hours of behavior cases and consulted on many cases that have been diagnosed by a veterinarian with various behavioral disorders.
In 2021, I achieved my Veterinary Technician Specialty in Animal Behavior.
I currently own one cat and one dog and love to teach them new skills in my spare time. It is fun to watch them learn to cooperate with veterinary care. Training my cat is especially fun because he will purr loudly when participating in a training session. I thoroughly enjoy working on scent work games with my dog. He enjoys a good tracking game with a toy at the end. I have also enjoyed teaching a variety of different dog breeds for various clients.
I enjoy working with all kinds of animals. I especially love working with a nervous pet and seeing the foundational trust be built. Some of my favorite success stories involved a lot of calm, consistent practice.
April was my senior cat. She passed away at somewhere around 18 years old. Since she was adopted around two years old, we are not sure exactly how old she was. She enjoyed learning new things all they way through her golden years. Learning to be comfortable with new sounds and veterinary care took lots of patience and practice.
I love learning and enjoy every opportunity to grow in my field. I often read books and research papers to stay up to date. I have enjoyed attending the Clinical Animal Behavior Conference in Las Vegas 4 years. I have also had the opportunity to learn from board certified veterinary behaviorists who are experts in the field.
I strive to meet people where they are. I desire to empower learners both human and animal to learn and grow in their ability to communicate with each other. I am committed to using scientifically sound training techniques. I believe in using least aversive minimally invasive methods for modifying behavior.