I adopted Lucy in the spring of 2006 and became, at minimum, Lucy's third owner in 3 ½ years. From what I know, Lucy was a shelter dog, adopted by a family who later gave her up to another family who then sold her to me. Lucy had been on the receiving end of abuse by animals and people alike-and that's just the part of her story I happen to know about.

When I first met Lucy she seemed smart, calm, and engaged. She was in need of some basic training, but the decision to adopt her was effortless. Nearly a week into her stay with me, however, she began showing signs of fear aggression that quickly escalated into threatening behavior. She growled, barked, and snapped at anyone who made her feel uneasy-which was just about everyone. I'd been meaning to enroll Lucy in training, but suddenly was in need of a trainer more than ever. Every trainer I contacted told me to forget about training Lucy to be a service dog. Christine, on the other hand, was different. She spent time talking with me. She listened to my concerns. She empathized. She had ideas.

One of the things that struck me when Christine and I first met was how evidence-based her methods are. I work in scientific research, so the fact that Christine's training methods are grounded in science made another positive impression on me and gave me confidence as we set out to seemingly work a miracle. Needless to say, Christine agreed to take Lucy and me on and-believe it or not-my fearful, aggressive dog soon became everybody's best friend. And the best part? Christine's positive reinforcement and reward-based training methods are not only effective, they make training fun.

Lucy had even more tricks up her sleeve once we got past the fear aggression problem. She wasn't up to the task of joining me in the office just yet, so Lucy stayed home alone for a few hours in the morning, joined me for a walk around noon, then spent another few hours at home in the afternoon. The schedule worked well for a couple months until one day I came home to find dog pee on the bed. I called Christine and she told me all about separation anxiety. She gave me tips on how to address it and pointed me in the right direction for further resources to look into before our next meeting. Unfortunately, the problem of peeing on the bed didn't let up soon enough. I came home one evening after being gone just a few minutes and found more pee on the bed. I was at my wit's end. The bedding from Lucy's most recent mishap was still in the laundry and Lucy had peed on the bare mattress, ruining it for good and threatening a precious night's sleep. I called Christine and, as usual, she had a remedy. She knew how we could amp up our training to address Lucy's needs and, yes, they worked. Even more, at that moment-standing in my bedroom, exhausted, stressed, staring at a ruined mattress, angry at the hundreds of dollars I'd have to spend on a new mattress the next day, upset that my service dog wasn't working out, out of ideas and patience-Christine went above what any skilled trainer could ever do. Christine-by being the person she is-calmed me down and, in a moment of crisis, gave me the patience, the assurance, and the strength to keep trying.

Lucy didn't do the things that most dogs do, such as chewing, chasing, fetching, digging, etc. It turns out dogs do those things for a reason and, without them, don't have proper outlets for anxiety and other emotions. Christine explained, "When we get upset or emotional we might talk to someone or do something that's relaxing to us. Dogs don't have that, so they rip and tear things, pee on the bed. The goal is to give her a healthy and more appropriate outlet." Indeed, with Christine's guidance, Lucy learnt to do all those things-the good ones, anyway. Christine taught me how to teach Lucy to burry a bone. (Amazing!) It goes without saying, Lucy really loves that one. She's also grown attached to her stuffed toys, she likes floppy ones the best, and spends many hours playing with them-sometimes sweet, sometimes with stuffing flying everywhere! It's more than cute when she curls up with her "babies" at the end of the day.

When we significantly addressed Lucy's behavior problems, it was time to move onto tricks. Using capture and reward, as well as clicker training, Christine taught me to shape Lucy into joyfully doing any behavior. Using such methods, we taught Lucy to fetch, "go to mat" (lay down on the rug and stay there), and even run on the treadmill! "Treadmill Video"
And more.
Christine is still working with Lucy and me. Lucy continues to change and grow into a happier animal and better companion with each new training endeavor. We're beginning to work on the important task of training Lucy to accompany me at the workplace, as well as other behavior modifications such as dog on dog manners. When setbacks presented themselves, there are times I've been discouraged and even doubted Lucy's ability to be a service dog. Fortunately, Christine was right there, reminding me of the progress we've made and inspiring me all over again.
Lucy adds something immeasurable to my life-emotionally and physically. I am able to be more and do more because of her service and companionship. I have Christine to thank for that.