ABSTRACT
I’ve been an animal lover for as long as I can remember; little did I know this childhood love would grow into my current professional journey. I began a career in the field of human-animal interactions first as a professional dog trainer, followed by studies in Social Work. Social Work offered me the ability to combine my interests in social justice, equality, and of course, human-animal interactions. I was afforded the opportunity to advance my skills in both dog training and human-animal interactions in my work at a therapy dog organization while completing my master’s degree in social work through Hunter College. During that time, I also completed the Animals and Human Health Certificate program through the University of Denver’s Institute for Human Animal Connection, a thorough and well-developed foundation program. From there, I completed a program through Arizona State University, becoming familiar with the AniCare and AniCare Child models of working with those who have abused animals. Each opportunity for learning offered reinforcement and motivation for me that I had found a field that matched my interests and values.
