Some people know what their dream job is from an early age or find it while attending university, while others take a more circuitous path to it. For Rebecca, being a dog trainer is like coming home after a long journey. Even though finding her true passion took a while, her previous career as a teacher and her lifelong love of animals helped prepare her for a career as a… Read More
Remi grew up loving animals. As a child, they broke the traditional lemonade-stand mold by creating home-baked dog treats to sell to neighbors – and they’ve been working with animals ever since! Growing up in California and North Carolina, their home was always full of fluffy and feathered friends – from cats and dogs to rabbits and chickens. Over time, Remi developed their animal training skills naturally by building… Read More
Jason was raised in Austin and is excited to give back to his home city through Suburban K9. He has been growing his passion for dogs and strengthening his skills for over 15 years, including extensive volunteer experience at Austin Pets Alive, completing their Canine Good Citizen certification program and eventually focusing on working with the more aggressive dogs. Additionally, he has a background in customer service and training… Read More
Cara has had an avid love for animals all her life. If you asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up, you’d always get the answers “veterinarian,” or “I want to own a dog rescue.” She was born in Portland, Maine, where she first began pursuing her love of animals. She began volunteering at the local Animal Refuge League at age 11. Then she added in… Read More
Haley has been an animal lover since she was a small child. Growing up, if she was not catching lizards and bugs in the Florida heat, she was surrounded by her small zoo at home: two dogs, a cockatiel, a hamster and a fish. Her parents encouraged her love of the animal kingdom by regularly taking her to zoos, aquariums and parks. A few years after graduating high school,… Read More
Erin was born and raised in Utah. She has been a lifelong animal lover, but her passion for learning about dog behavior started several years ago after owning two pit bulls of her own. For 5 years, Erin worked at a dental lab making teeth, and gained experience working with dogs on the side. She spent a lot of time both working as a dog walker/sitter and helping friends… Read More
Addison grew up in California, surrounded by animals. He worked as a kennel tech at a veterinary hospital in high school, where he first realized that animals had a special place in his heart. After high school, Addison moved to Colorado and graduated from Colorado State University with a degree in Biology. He pursued a career in research, which has given him unique experiences involving animals and behavior. Addison… Read More
Kira grew up in a small town in the Pacific Northwest. Growing up, they always had a fascination with animals, from watching Steve Irwin, to their first word literally being “cat”. From a young age they knew that they wanted to work with animals if they could. Following high school, they immediately got a job at a pet hotel caring for dogs and cats while their pet parents were… Read More
Kati Del Pozo is originally from Toledo, Ohio but has been living in the Chicago area for about 17 years and now resides in Gurnee, IL. Her love and passion for dogs began at a young age when her grandparents brought home a Cocker Spaniel puppy for her family on Christmas morning. She’s always had family dogs in the household, including three Samoyeds, three Chihuahuas, and of course their very… Read More
As a Chicago area native, Evan grew up spending as much time with dogs as he possibly could (despite not being able to have one at home due to a sibling’s allergies). As an adolescent, he spent his free time training the dogs of family members and soon realized he had a passion for working with animals. During his college years, Evan worked as a dog walker while living in… Read More
Kaitlyn joins Suburban K9 with a lot of experience and passion for training animals. Growing up, Kaitlyn rode horses as often as possible, and, if she wasn’t riding horses, she was training her family dogs for fun. Kaitlyn knew that she was meant to work with animals from the very beginning. Before graduating from high school, Kaitlyn was offered an internship at her local animal hospital, and she was quickly… Read More
Frank has had dogs in his life from the beginning. Growing up in Philadelphia, he was always willing to help his neighbors with their pets and soon realized that he had a way with animals. Frank spent the first few years of his animal career handling and training horses. Then in his early twenties, he adopted his first dog Rex, and he completely changed his outlook on life. It… Read More
Stephanie grew up on a farm in rural South Carolina, raising dogs, cats, birds, horses, goats, chickens, ducks- the full farm experience! She discovered a love for connecting with animals while working with dogs and horses from a young age, including training her family’s dressage horses as a teenager. After obtaining a BA in Psychology, Stephanie transitioned her passion for animals into her professional portfolio by working as a… Read More
Tiffany was born and raised in California, where her passion for animals developed at a very young age. She grew up surrounded by dogs, horses, cats and many other animals. Her life-long dream has been to work with animals. When Tiffany was young she spent her free time playing with and training her family’s dogs and is so happy to see her passions come full circle. Tiffany moved to… Read More
Devon’s passion for animals and the outdoors started at a young age in his hometown of Mesa, Arizona. After honorably serving his country for eight years in the United States Army in Germany, Afghanistan, Texas, and Korea, Devon decided to pursue training dogs full time. As a loving father of two, it’s his firm belief that there are no “bad dogs”, just learned behaviors. Devon loves the unique challenge that… Read More
Nick Smoots is a Chicago native and an avid dog lover! He was surrounded by pets all his life and has always had a soft spot for animals! Last year, he adopted a two-year-old Pitbull mix named Juno. Nick discovered his passion for working with animals when Juno went through training with Suburban K9. He saw a complete 180 in her behavior in a short amount of time as the… Read More
Twila was born and raised in Houston, Texas, and has been an animal lover from the very beginning. She has had pets her whole life – even a hedgehog! As an Animal Science major at Texas A&M, she found every opportunity to work with animals she could. Twila also spent a semester in the Kentucky Bluegrass region as a Thoroughbred Breeding Farm intern. By her senior year, she was the… Read More
Jax has always had a deep love for animals. Their desire to create cooperative bonds between pets and people started early, with them training their rats to perform tricks! Jax has spent 17 years of their life riding and working with horses and gained some experience as a stablehand in high school and college. Jax spent some time working in a pet hotel and absolutely adored the time they spent… Read More
Alex’s love for dogs started at a young age when she read the A-Z dog breed books cover to cover. She told her family that she wanted to be a vegetarian at age six and attended veterinary camp at Washington State University when she was in seventh grade. Growing up, she volunteered at her local animal shelter, which allowed her to gain the confidence to handle dogs that outweighed her…. Read More
Alex spent the majority of his childhood learning and mastering martial arts. He began instructing others while still in middle school, becoming an assistant instructor after attaining his first dan black belt. He continued to the learn and teach under his Master while in college, attaining his second dan black belt, and teaching classes of all ages. In addition to martial arts, Alex has a long history working in the… Read More