Education designed by pet professionals for pet professionals
Ann Davidson
Elizabeth Bylenga
Our Behavior Fundamentals students are all dog lovers.
But the similiarities end there.
Meet this unique group.
Born in Chicago and raised in southwest Michigan, Elizabeth was called “Dr. Doolittle” by her parents while she was growing up. After working with Jamie in 2005 to help her then-dog with severe anxiety and resource guarding, she began reading about dog behavior for fun. Her intense love of animals and curiosity about how things work drew her to Behavior Fundamentals, and she can't wait to continue learning and see where this all takes her. She has three adopted dogs, from left to right: Spud (9yrs), Presley (2yrs), and Chiquita (5yrs).
A native of Detroit, Ann moved to Chicago in 2000 to attend Loyola University and has been working in marketing and communications since graduation. Ann grew up with dogs, and after welcoming an adorable Keeshond named Ash into her family last summer, she was reminded of her love for all things dog. She is eager to join the dog industry, get some insight on what goes on in her little fuzzball's head, and help others to share in the life-enriching experience of bonding with dogs.
By day Yvonne is a lab manager at the Lurie Cancer Research Center, and on the weekends and evenings she volunteers (with her dog Sasha) as a member of the Board of Directors for Safe Humane Chicago’s Lifetime Bonds program. She is also a trainer at AnimalSense. You can read more about her work with Safe Humane Chicago here.
Yvonne Feeney
Meet Our Students
In 2013, Heather started a dog rescue, chiPAWgo, which aims to promote awareness, education, and a spirit of volunteerism throughout the community while relocating rescued dogs to safety. Part of her goal with CanineLink is to gain knowledge that can help better prepare people for adopting rescue dogs; she also hopes to transition into a career working with dogs (and the people who love them) in the near future.
Heather Friedman
Bob is a child psychologist who is following an interest in becoming a certified professional dog trainer. He has two shelter dogs: Gretzky, a 10 year old lab/pit mix, and Roenick, a 3 year old beagle/border collie mix.
Bob Hirsch
Julie comes from a family of pet owners who have always cared for their animals, and treated them with love and respect. She plans to make a career in the pet industry, and in the meantime is enjoying Behavior Fundamentals.
Julie Kozak
Amy lives in Evanston with her two rescue dogs, Willa, a ten-year-old lab/shepherd/chow mix, and Dash, a young springer spaniel. They help her run Amy & Rosie's B&B, a dog boarding and walking service that is named after her first amazing springer, Rosie (2000-2012). Before becoming involved in all things dog, Amy worked in legal and social services.
Amy Kurtz
Jenna has always been an animal lover, especially of dogs. Her background in Psychology and as a dog walker created a strong desire to further her knowledge of dogs by learning how their minds work, how they interact with humans, and getting a better idea of handling and training them in a way that best fulfills the needs of both humans and dogs.
Jenna Rotolo
Debbie Stouffer
Conner has lived with and been around dogs his entire life, and currently works in the pet daycare and boarding industry. Dogs are his passion, and he is eager to go forward with CanineLink to make a career of something he cares so deeply about.
Conner Verity
Debbie is the Operations Manager for Cartus Chicago, where she provides training, development and mentoring to relocation consultants. She joined the Fundamentals program because she is designing and starting up a dog day care in the Chicago area, and wants to do it the right way. She feels that education is the key to better care for all dogs, and the knowledge she is getting from CanineLink will help her meet her goals. She has two dogs - a border collie named Sox and an Australian shepherd named Chase.
