Meet our pack!
Stephanie’s career in the animal industry was preceded with extensive animal rescue work starting when she was 8 years old. Even as a young child, she always gravitated towards animals, but retired racing greyhound rescue opened a whole new and exciting world for her. Stephanie was working in a veterinarian’s office at 14, trained as a veterinary technician by 16, handling a personal schedule of minor procedures by 19, and finally managing a busy multi veterinarian clinic at 24. Sadly, the negativity of the veterinary world quickly became taxing, and Stephanie worked with a traveling vaccine clinic until she discovered the world of doggie daycare and boarding facilities. After a number of years managing some of busiest facilities in the area, Stephanie decided that pursuing a career focused on canine socialization and rescue rehabilitation was what would bring her the most joy. She has since spent a significant amount of time working with multiple trainers improving her existing skills and learning new training methods. It's not uncommon to find Stephanie associated with various animal related causes working not only with multiple rescue groups but also with humane investigators, local law enforcement, and animal control in an effort to better serve the public while advocating for animals. She even served as the intrim Animal Warden for the North Chicago Police Department Animal Control in 2019. Stephanie is a registered Evaluator with AKC for their STAR Puppy, Canine Good Citizen, Urban Canine Good Citizen, and Community Canine Progams.
Eddie is our USMC Veteran! OOrah! After his career with the Marines ended, Eddie spent a number of years desperately searching for a new career path that was just as rewarding, and let me tell you- the struggle was real!
Eddie made his way into the animal industry, first diving into the rescue world by fostering and assisting with transports. Witnessing first hand the amount of dogs coming through rescue in need of serious rehabilitation, Eddie's Marine instincts kicked in and he knew he needed to find a way to help them. He quickly sought out an apprenticeship opportunity with an experienced Master Trainer, and immediately realized his second calling in life. He spent of number of years working with numerous local rescues and as a subcontracted trainer for multiple different local dog daycare and boarding facilities. Eddie noticed that both of those situations allowed very little direct contact with the actual owners of the dogs and Eddie noticed how much continued follow up was truly needed in many situations in order for these dogs to successfully remain in their homes and he was very disappointed when the rescues and facilities wouldn't allow him to provide that follow up free of charge. Stephanie and Eddie discussed this dilemma and shortly there after, SFK9 Dog Training was born.
​
When Eddie is not training dogs, you can find him spending time with his daughters or volunteering with the American Red Cross and local emergency service agencies. They say that 'Once a Marine, Always a Marine" and we believe that is absolutely true as Eddie is very much the typical Marine at heart. We are incredibly grateful for his service and thankful to have Eddie as a core part of our amazing team! Eddie is a registered Evaluator with AKC for their STAR Puppy, Canine Good Citizen, Urban Canine Good Citizen, and Community Canine Progams.
Casey has been working with dogs in some capacity his entire life, starting with sneaking treats to neighborhood dogs as a child. However, it was not until 2018 that he dedicated himself to a full-time career with dogs. He gained experience by working at doggy daycares, learning techniques for communicating with dogs and helping them overcome behavioral challenges. Now, Casey aims to change the world one dog at a time. Prior to joining the team here at SFK9, Casey had been working with both service and theraputic comfort dogs. Casey holds his CPDT-KA, and has obtained additional training through Canine Trade Group and Knowing Dogs 101 & 102 by The Dog Gurus.
​
Kate has loved animals for as long as she can remember. Growing up around horses and a large assortment of various domestic pets in her home, pursuing a career with animals just seemed like a natural choice! She has hands on experience working in a number of Chicagoland area dog care facilites and she is a Professional Certified Dog Trainer through Animal Behavior College. Kate continues to challenge herself and her skills as a trainer every day! With a little more hands on experience under her belt, she hopes to become a registered Evaluator with AKC in the future.
​
More info to come on our apprentices and talented new team members including Rebecca, Jackie, Richard, Ashley, Stevie, & Donnell too. They are just busy training dogs at the moment!