Kennel & Staff News

Congratulations

Kennel Manager, Rachel McLeod is now a Licensed Veterinary Technician, joining former vet tech and co-owner Paula Hanson in overseeing the health of our furry guests.

Training Manager Kate Dutra and Lead Instructor Christie Mahaffey have both qualified as Certified Pet Dog Trainers (CPDT). Administered by the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers (CCPDT), this internationally recognized program is the only widely accepted certification for dog trainers. In order to become a CPDT, a trainer must first have 300 hours of experience teaching dog training classes and must then take and pass a written examination that covers instructional skills, animal husbandry, ethology, learning theory, and training equipment. Green Acres has four CPDT’s on staff; Kate, Christie, Don Hanson and Becky Ruggiero.

Former Pet Care Technician and Lead Instructor Heidi Brzezowski, is now Dr. Heidi and practicing at Acadia Veterinary Hospital on MDI.

Certified Pet Care Technician and Assistant Instructor Erin Colpitt graduated from the University of Maine at Orono.

Co-owner Don Hanson was elected President of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT) in January. Headquartered in Greenville, SC, the APDT is the largest organization of dog training professionals in the world. Founded in 1993, the mission of the 5000+ member APDT is “Promoting caring relationships between dogs and people by educating trainers in canine behavior and emphasizing professionalism and reward based training.”

A Whole Lotta Learning Going On

Erin Colpitt, Kate Dutra, Don Hanson, Tracy Haskell, Jessica Hofmeyer, Christie Mahaffey, Joel Mahaffey, Patty McNamara, Becky Ruggiero, and Angela Sedgwick of our training and daycare staff attended a “How to Talk Dog” seminar with Certified Dog Behavior Consultant and Certified Pet Dog Trainer, Sarah Kalnajs, at My Wonderful Dog in Portland. Kalnajs reviewed the variety of signals used by dogs to indicate when dogs are stressed, feeling threatened, or being threatening. By understanding these signals we can better care for your dogs and help ensure their safety and comfort.

When asked about the significance of this seminar Green Acres’ co-owner, Don Hanson, stated “The material presented by Ms. Kalnajs is absolutely essential for anyone that works with dogs professionally, but is especially critical for those that are responsible for supervising dogs that interact with one another such as at a doggie daycare, in a dog training class, or at a dog park. The subtlety of these signals demonstrates the importance of making sure that dogs in a daycare are 100% supervised by adequate numbers of trained staff that are always right there with the dogs, observing and ready to intervene as necessary.”

In March, Don flew to Wales where he attended ten days of continuing education at the Natural Animal Centre focusing on the advanced use of Bach Flower Remedies for treating animals with behavioral/emotional issues and teaching pet guardians and professionals in their use. He also attended the two day International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC) conference in Cleveland, OH. Topics at the conference included presentations on the latest research on canine learning and cognition, psychopharmacology and its use in treating animal behavior problems, working with fearful shelter dogs, environmental enrichment for cats, and medical conditions that can affect cat behavior.

Staff Anniversaries

Rachel McLeod, CPCT, LVT—4 Years—February
Kathy Kingman—10 Years—March
Erin Colpitt, CPCT—2 Years—March
Joel Mahaffey—4 Years—April
Christie Mahaffey, CPDT—5 Years—April
Kate Dutra, CPDT—15 Years—June
Brenda Merrill, CPCT—10 Years– June
Angela Sedgwick, CPCT—6 years—June
Patty McNamara—8 years—June
Thank You!

Welcome Our New Staff

Jessica Hofmeyer—Asst. Instructor
Rachael Bridges—Pet Care Tech
Tracy Haskell—Pet Care Tech
Kate McDonald—Pet Care Tech