My Story
Hello! I'm so glad you landed here! I am excited to share my passion with anyone seeking to connect with their pet partner at a deeper level. I am here to support you in building effective communication with each other so your relationship can grow. Humans and animals have so much we can learn from each other if we take the time.
​
I am hoping that by learning a little about me you will feel comfortable reaching out to learn how I can best be of help to you and your animal.
​
So here's my story...
When I was a little kid I envisioned my older self as a kind of animal psychologist. I literally pictured animals sitting on a couch and telling me about their life so I could help them. Kind of like Dr. Dolittle before I even knew about him. I have always had a deep connection with animals. I was that person at the party that was off to the side with the animal rather than interacting with the humans. Or who always found, fed and sometimes tried to train kittens, rabbits, and crows.
​
I wanted to be a veterinarian in high school but ended up going for my bachelor's in Speech and Hearing Science, then a master's in Special Education, then became board certified in Behavior Analysis and am now a Karen Pryor Academy- Certified Dog Trainer (trained by the guru herself-Terry Ryan!). My initial dog training classes with my own dogs were with Grisha Stewart (another guru of dog behavior IMO) back when she started Ahimsa in Seattle in the early 2000's. I have always believed in building a relationship of trust and understanding with animals and these fabulous women have helped me continue with that philosophy to this day. I recently finished a training with Atlas Assitance Dogs and am now a team faciliator using their program.
When I started as an educator in Seattle in 2003 I was able to create a classroom specific to Autistic and ADHD kids and one of the first things I wanted were therapy dogs. So over the years I was teaching there I had two Portuguese Water Dogs in my classroom (Scuba and Bella) and ended up helping others in the district to expand the use of therapy dogs in their classrooms as well. I created and coordinated the first presentation in the district so others could learn about assistance dogs in all forms from therapy dogs to mobility dogs to seeing eye dogs, and more! That was such a fun, memorable, and meaningful event!
As I traveled around and grew my own family I continued to have therapy dogs in my classroom or offered Reading with Dogs programs in local libraries in Massachusetts, Washington, and Wisconsin.
I was a volunteer dog walker for PAWS in Lynnwood when I didn't have any animals of my own. I adopted and cared for some cats and dogs over the years. I was always the first to volunteer with breeder friends (Lagotto Romagnolo's and Icelandic Sheepdogs) with everything from caring for breeding dogs before, during and after birthing, to helping with the births themselves, learning breeding practices like AviDog and Puppy Culture, to helping with temperament testing and puppy training. I currently volunteer at KARE focusing on training and evaluating therapy animals. I started the PNW Therapy Dogs group focusing on Seattle and surrounding areas. I am working to become a Community Partner for Pet Partners. I'm also a team facilitator for Atlas Assistance Dogs helping people to train their own service dog.
​
I currently practice as neurodiversity-affirming educational consultant both locally and nationally. My goal has been to help break down barriers and help people build bridges of understanding with their families, schools, friends, and workplaces. I saw a need to extend my work with these families to include assistance animals to help them in their day to day tasks. And that is where this business begins!
​
Feel free to contact me to learn more! Peace, love and puppy kisses ~Shea
