Heart Dog owner, Kathleen, spent the first thirty years of her life training and showing horses. She was a professional horse trainer and riding instructor until, at the age of 34, she went to medical school and became a Podiatrist. In January of 2000, she discovered dog agility.

She started with “Maggie,” the Border Collie she had at the time and successfully showed her in several agility venues. Maggie went on to acquire several advanced titles in CPE and AKC and the Accomplished Agility Dog championship title in USDAA.

In 2002, Kathleen rescued “Annie,” an eleven month old Border Collie. Annie went on to get the C-ATCH championship title in CPE and has the Gold Agility Dog Championship title, Gold Performance Championship title, and Tournament Masters-Platinum title in USDAA. She also has the Platinum Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2005, Annie was a finalist in Dog Agility Masters Team competition at the USDAA National competition held in Scottsdale, Arizona. Sadly, Annie passed away August 19, 2017, at nearly 16 years old. She is very sorely missed.

In 2006, Kathleen acquired “J.B.,” an eight week old Border Collie from Nancy Gyes and Jim Basic. J.B. is now 14 years old and retired from agility. He has his Gold Agility Dog Championship title and the Platinum Lifetime Achievement Award title. He also has his Gold Jumpers title, Platinum Standard, Platinum Gamblers, Platinum Snooker, Platinum Relay Pairs and Platinum Tournament titles.

In November 2017, Kathleen was very fortunate to find “Joule” (registered name: PSF’s Measure of Energy), a 10 month old Border Collie. She had been returned to her breeder because she was too much dog (read: too active and smart) for her owners. Kathleen finds Joule to be a pure joy to live with and to train for agility. She is so very smart, fast and focused. Joule has indeed lived up to her potential. She is an amazing agility dog. Joule did very well in the few competitions she ran in prior to the pandemic, winning or placing in every Biathlon class (international style courses) in which she was entered. Kathleen is looking forward to continuing Joule’s agility career when competitions start up again. 

Kathleen’s dog training philosophy centers on positive reinforcement for both the dog and handler. Through positive reinforcement training, the dog/handler relationship is nurtured and strengthened. She believes that training and agility, above all, should be fun and enjoyable for both the dog and handler!