I am a certified Dog Behavior Consultant & accredited Family Mediator, I bring more than 25 years experience as a dog behavior expert into my work in the pet custody area.
I started ‘Who Keeps the Dog’ after seeing numerous clients over the years who needed help with their dogs behavior after their divorce. These dogs were stressed or anxious about their living situation or custody plan that they were living with after a breakup. I realized how often people need guidance to make a decision about their dogs that will work in the long run.
25 years of working with dogs and their people.
After growing up in the USA, I moved to Cape Town, South Africa in 2005. Internationally qualified, in both animal behavior and mediation, I work with clients in the USA, Australia, Canada, the UK and South Africa.
As a worldwide educator and speaker on the subject of pet custody, I am absolutely passionate about helping my clients minimize the potentially negative effect of separations on dogs. In addition to working with people one on one, I developed, and teach, the first pet custody education course for divorce mediators and lawyers to learn how focus on the needs of pets during divorce.
Since 1996, I have worked professionally with thousands of dogs using evidence-based positive methods . My work has ranged from puppy school to training dogs on movie sets to competitive agility training to highly challenging behavior cases, and everything in between.
A speaker at the American Bar Association, the Association of Professional Family Mediators, and International Mediation Week, my work has been featured in the Associated Press, VICE News, ABC News and Australian Dog Lover Magazine.
Life in Cape Town
My husband who likes to hike, teenage daughter who likes to freedive, and I live near the sea with our six delightful pets. We have three rescue cats (Rex, Leonard and Siba) and a pack of dogs; Bear, a bouncy miniature poodle. Sam, a noisy Australian cattle dog, and Jax, a busy border collie.
Contact me
I offer clients a free discovery call to discuss pet custody, dog behavior consultations, and the pet custody course for lawyers and mediators.