Three Questions - Sarah Gaziano

By Jamie Damato Migdal, CEO & Pet Industry Entrepreneur

As the Program Coordinator and Student Advisor, Sarah Gaziano is the constant thread running through almost every interaction with CanineLink - students, alumni, speakers, and, yes, the Tomato Head delivery guy. A graduate of Marquette University, Sarah also has an MBA from Lewis University and is CPDT-KA.

Which dog has taught you the most, and why? My dog Eddy, for sure. He was originally my husband's dog. He has a lot of issues and doesn't bond well with new people. He taught me how to gain a scared dog's trust. That was definitely our biggest obstacle, but now we're pretty close. I also started living with Eddy when I started school to become a dog trainer. I got to test out everything I learned on him first.

How do you "pay it forward"? That's a great question because I often feel that I don't do enough. My main focus is Animal Assisted Therapy work. I just became an evaluator to make sure testing dogs and handlers are ready for the stressful environments that therapy work involves. I also go with my mom's dog, Sitka, to different places a few times a month to do therapy work. I have also recently been going to some of the shelters that CanineLink has a partnership with to do some more hands-on volunteering. I try to go with other dog professionals so we can access each other's handling skills.

You're the Program Coordinator for CanineLink and a dog trainer for AnimalSense. Does one job ever influence another? All the time; my work at CanineLink helps me to stay organized and productive for AnimalSense. I transfer my office skills to dog training every day, and my dog training experience helps in the classroom at CanineLink. I am also the Student Advisor so I am at each and every class. My experience at AnimalSense helps me to discuss and apply the things the students are learning in our academic setting.