The Webinar Summit Took Place
on Thursday, April 11, 2019
Watch the Entire Summit
These Free Webinars Will Show You
Tip #1
Legalities revolving around dog bites, dogs in the workplace, service dogs, therapy dogs, and emotional support animals.
Tip #2
Dog safety and bite prevention around babies, toddlers, and children.
Tip #3
What every employer needs to know that has employees that come into contact with dogs during their work day or has dogs in the workplace.
Plus: Don’t miss the exclusive offers to our webinar participants. Each webinar will have unique packages from Kim and our guests.
Learn More About Our Guests
Lisa Radosta DVM, DACVB
Owner of Florida Veterinary Behavior Service
Co-owner Dog Nerds
Co-author of “From Fearful to Fear Free”
Dr. Radosta graduated from the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine in 2000. She completed a residency in Behavioral Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. During her residency, she was awarded the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists Resident research award two years in a row.
Dr. Radosta is the owner of Florida Veterinary Behavior Service, a specialty practice in southeast Florida and co-owns Dog Nerds, an online educational resource for owners whose pets have behavior disorders.
She lectures nationally and internationally for veterinarians, their staff and lay people. She has written book chapters for textbooks including Handbook of Behavior Problems of the Dog and Cat; Blackwell’s Five Minute Veterinary Consult, Decoding your Cat and Canine and Feline and Small Animal Pediatrics. She is the coauthor of From Fearful to Fear Free, the ultimate guide for fearful dogs.
She has published scientific research articles in Journal of Applied Animal Behavior Science and The Veterinary Journal and written review articles for Advances in Small Animal Medicine and Surgery, Compendium, NAVC, Veterinary Team Brief, Clinician’s Brief and AAHA Newstat. She is the section editor for Advances in Small Animal Medicine and Surgery. She serves on the Fear Free Executive Council and the AAHA Behavior Management Task Force.
She has been interviewed for many publications including Cat Fancy, Dog Fancy, Palm Beach Post, NAVC Clinician’s Brief, Sun Sentinel, WebMD, AAHA trends, Real Simple, Good News for Pets, DVM 360 and AAHA News Stat. She has appeared on Lifetime television, Laurie Live, local news in southeast Florida, Mitch Wilder’s Amazing Pet Discoveries, Nat Geo Wild, Animal Planet, Steve Dale’s Pet Talk and Dogs, Cats and Scapegoats. She podcasts for VetGirl.
Jennifer Shryock, B.A. CDBC
Founder, Family Paws Parent Education
Jennifer Shryock is a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant (CDBC), owner of Family Paws™ LLC in Cary, NC and holds a degree in Special Education. Jennifer is also former VP of Doggone Safe a non-profit dedicated to dog bite prevention and victim support. Jennifer also has proudly served on the board member of the International Childbirth Education Association. A recognized expert on dog and baby/toddler interactions and safety, Jennifer has written and spoken extensively about these topics. Her two programs, Dogs & Storks® and Dogs & Toddlers™ have been featured in national media such as The Wall Street Journal, Martha Stewart LIVING along with many TV and radio appearances.
As a Mother, dog behavior consultant and teacher…Jennifer recognized a need for support and education for these families and began building resources for new and expecting families through her own business Family Paws. A consistent need for this specialized service led to the creation of the highly endorsed international program Dogs & Storks® for expecting and adopting families and then years later Dogs & Toddlers™, for families with babies 3 months of age and up. All of these passions and ideas have led to the creation of Family Paws™ Parent Education now offering programs all of the United States, Canada and beyond! Jennifer has mentored and supported hundreds of dog trainers all over the world and continues to support families in her community and beyond.
Jennifer lives in Cary, North Carolina, with her husband, 4 children, 2 dogs, and 4 cats.
Mikkel Becker, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA, KPA CTP, CDBC, CTC
Lead Trainer for Fear Free Pets
Author & Featured Trainer on Vetstreet.com
Tuesday, April 11th @ 12:45 PM ET
Mikkel Becker is the lead trainer for Fear Free Pets. She is a certified behavior consultant and certified trainer who specializes in work with dogs and cats. Mikkel is the co-author of six books, including the recent, From Fearful to Fear Free, and was the featured trainer on Vetstreet.com. In her professional work, Becker uses positive reinforcement and non-force based training strategies that are rooted in scientific learning theory. Mikkel is committed to helping pets and their people live better lives together through motivational, reward based training that’s closely partnered with the pet’s veterinary team.
Melissa Winkle, OTR/L, FAOTA
President, Dogwood Therapy Services
President, Animal Assisted Intervention International
Melissa Winkle, OTR/L, FAOTA is an occupational therapist in private practice in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She is president of Dogwood Therapy Services and Animal Assisted Intervention International. She has been training service dogs for people with disabilities and training dogs for healthcare/human service providers for 18 years. Melissa uses positive reinforcement and humane, non-force based training methods.
She is a practitioner, a researcher, and has authored 5 books, available on Amazon. She is a global speaker and consultant about Animal Assisted Interventions and for program development. She is passionate about educating healthcare and human service providers about the advanced knowledge required to include AAIs in practice, and is an advocate for the dogs that work with them.
Veronica Sanchez M.Ed. CABC, CPDT-KA
Founder, Cooperative Paws Service Dog Coach certificate program
Veronica Sanchez M.Ed. CABC, CPDT-KA, is the founder of the Cooperative Paws Service Dog Coach™ certificate program for dog trainers. She teaches pet dog trainers how to incorporate service dog training in their businesses.
Veronica wrote the book, Service Dog Coaching: A Guide for Pet Dog Trainers, and is a frequent contributor to publications in professional organizations including the Association of Professional Dog Trainers, the International Association for Animal Behavior Consultants and the Pet Professional Guild. Veronica’s passion for service dogs is personal and professional.
In addition to her experience training service dogs to help people with wide range of needs, Veronica has a disability herself, and she trained her own dogs to assist as service dogs.
Cathy Reisfield
Owner & Lead Trainer Dependable Dogs
Founder of Kids & Dogs Safer Together
Thursday, April 11th @ 9:00 AM EDT / 6:00 AM PDT
Cathy has more than twenty years of experience working with humans and dogs, in a variety of settings including hospitals, rehabilitation, business, education, training, and other settings. She’s been training dogs for more than fifteen years. As the founder and head trainers at Dependable Dogs in Ann Arbor, MI, Cathy brings a unique combination of skills to working with clients. Most recently, Cathy founded Kids & Dogs Safer Together, a nonprofit that provides education programs and materials, with a focus on humane interactions to keep kids and dogs safer together in our communities.
Beth DeLaForest
Owner of Doggone Insurance and Aspire Insurance Group
Co-founder Dogsurance
Thursday, April 11th @ 11:30 AM EDT / 8:30 AM PDT
Beth is the owner of the Aspire Insurance Group, a full service Independent Insurance Agency licensed in MN and WI, that is part of Insurance Producers Network, and Doggone Insurance, a one stop shop for animal liability insurance, breed friendly homeowners insurance, and home insurance after a liability claim.
Beth started in the insurance industry, writing for State Farm between 2001 and 2010. She became an independent insurance agent in 2010 in the MN metro area, and formed her own agencies in 2014.
Beth has been a pit bull advocate for more than two decades, and was one of three founding members of A Rotta Love, a MN based Pit Bull and Rottweiler Rescue. In 2005, she started the Dog Safety Program, which educated children about dog safety. Beth worked on the dangerous dog law in MN, to create a responsible dog owner bill in 2009. Her career has been spent combining her passions of dog advocacy and insurance, to help two legged and four legged family members through MN and WI.
Asima Ahmad
Associate at Blank Rome LLP in the Labor and Employment Group
Asima Ahmad concentrates her practice on labor and employment litigation and counseling, and has experience with animal policies and litigation matters. She regularly represents clients in state and federal court and before administrative agencies in a broad range of employment matters.
Asima serves as the regional chair for the Hamilton College Alumni Association and is a member of the Philadelphia Chapters of the Labor and Employment Relations Association and the South Asian Bar Association.
During law school, Asima served as managing editor of articles for the Penn State Journal of Law and International Affairs, and was a member of the Civil Rights Appellate Clinic, where she received the CALI Excellence for the Future Award. Asima led the clinic’s efforts in researching and writing an amicus brief filed with the United States Supreme Court in a Title VII retaliation case on behalf of twenty civil rights and advocacy groups.
Asima is fluent in Urdu.
Michelle McCarthy, CDBC, CTAC
Owner & Director, Training for K9 Home Schooling
Certified Dog Behavior Consultant – IAABC
Certified Therapy Animal Consultant
I’ve been the Owner and Director of Training for K9 Home Schooling since 1999, which provides force free/clicker training methods in southeast Michigan. My love of all things dog, began when I was a small child with my first dog, a collie named Candy. After raising my 3 children, I decided to pursue a career as a dog professional.
I’m a nationally recognized Certified Dog Behavior Consultant and Certified Therapy Animal Consultant with the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC). Dog Behavior Consultants are required to demonstrate competency in five core areas including assessment and intervention strategies, counseling skills, behavioral science, knowledge of animal behavior and species-specific knowledge in order to obtain certification through the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants. Therapy Animal Consultants have expertise in all areas of Animal Assisted Therapy including program development . I’ve completed advanced certification programs in canine behavioral studies and stay current by attending seminars by certified trainers, behaviorists, veterinarians and other credentialed experts.
I teach companion obedience, specialized puppy programs, therapy dog training programs, charm school, outdoor adventures, socialization outings for puppies and adult dogs. I offer behavior consultations for puppies and adult dogs. I have 18 years of experience working with complex behavior problems and use science based methods and treatment plans. To support dog professionals in my area, I offer seminars and workshops for dog trainers, training groups, veterinarians, groomers, shelter/rescue workers, dog walkers and daycare workers.
My passion for working as a Therapy Dog Team began in 2000 with my beloved labrador Leo. In 2003 I worked with staff members to develop and launch a Therapy Dog Program at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Chelsea called Paws-itive Comfort. The program has grown over the years and remains the most popular program for patients and staff. I coordinated and launched R.E.A.D. (Reading Education Assistance Dog) Programs at the Ann Arbor and Chelsea District Libraries as well as various Elementary Schools. Over the years I’ve been blessed with amazing Therapy Dog Partners, Leo, Faye, Enzo and Marshall. I work as a Training Consultant and Tester for various Service Dog and Therapy Dog Organizations. For the past 10 years I’ve worked closely with medical professionals and educators who utilize a Therapy Dog at their work place or in Animal Assisted Play Therapy. I’ve raised, trained and placed Therapy Dogs who work in medical facilities and private practices around the US.
I’ve lived in Chelsea, Michigan since 2000 where I raised my family and now live with my husband John, Labrador Retriever Clark and Newfoundland Marshall.
Kim Merritt-Butler
Hostess for Good Dog’s Dog Bite Prevention Webinar Series
Co-Founder Good Dog in a box
Co-Founder Dogsurance
Kim is a serial entrepreneurs and co-founded Good Dog in a Box with her sister, professional dog trainer Jenn Merritt, CPDT-KA, to help educate the general public about dog bite prevention and provide reward based dog training systems and products that could keep more family dogs in their homes, instead of being relinquished to shelters because of “bad behavior and biting.”
Good Dog in a Box is proud to sponsor the Dog Bite Prevention Week Webinar series. Kim is excited to be sharing the “webinar stage” with this powerful and talented group of women. Help us spread the word to keep kids (and adults) SAFE around dogs.