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.
Of course, it wouldn’t be SFK9 Dog Training if it wasn’t a family affair. As you watch our videos and view the pictures we share, we have a feeling that you will notice something that makes SFK9 Dog Training truly unique. The entire SFK9 family, including Stephanie's children; Jimmie, Stevie, Evelyn, Raelyn, and even baby Lainey, are participants in the training of every dog. Why? Because children are part of the family and part of the way our household functions, we expect our own dogs as well as those we train to understand that and to respect that. Learning to respect all members of our household makes transitioning their newly learned behavior back into their owner’s home almost effortless. The basis and success of our training methods center around teaching each dog how to be a functioning part of the family and household.
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!
Allyson began her career in the animal industry almost 10 years ago. She knew that she loved dogs for as long as she could remember but she always wanted to learn more about them and their way of thinking. Realizing her passion was not only to help other pet owners better understand their dogs but also to help them achieve a more positive and rewarding relationship with them- dog training seemed like a natural choice! She has hands on experience working in a number of different dog care and training facilities in and around the Chicagoland area and has had the priviledge of working with multiple highly skilled trainers during that time. Allyson is now a Certified Service Dog Trainer through Bergin University in Santa Rosa, CA and she is a driving force behind the ESA & Therapy Dog Foundation Training Program here at SFK9. We are thrilled to have her as part of our growing team and we welcome the knowlege and experience she brings!
More info to come on our other talented team members Dirk, Jackie, Anson, Ray, Katie, Mitchelle, Casey & Donnell too. They are just busy training dogs at the moment!