Hi! I’m Caitlin!

And these are my dogs, Ellie (left) and Ginger (right).

We have two dogs, a cat, and three guinea pigs living harmoniously here at Casa Villa! And for those of you who are wondering, yes, I’ve always had a zoo-in-the-making, trotting after my every move. Life is WAY more fun with our furry companions, don’t you agree??

I love to immerse myself in nature and be “in the moment.'“ You can frequently find me hiking, canoeing, and practicing my wildlife photography skills - always with the dogs in tow!

I grew up in New Jersey and moved to Vermont in 2011. My family and I actively participated in foster-to-adopt programs for Guiding Eyes for the Blind (and still do to this day!), where we accepted service dogs into a home setting and continued their training until they were sent out for service or retired. Other than being a part of an amazing service & training program, being able to adopt our foster dogs, once retired, was the best part. You can say this is where my obsession with dogs began.

After I graduated from Castleton University with my BS in Biology, I spent 3 years working with VT Fish & Wildlife and various private wildlife consultants throughout VT & NY researching bats! By day I was hiking & enjoying the sights, by night I was handling some of the most federally endangered bat species & getting intimate with other nocturnal species (including flying squirrels, owls, & tons of amphibians & reptiles). I was even fortunate enough to participate in research while on a trip to St. John, USVI. That was by far the most fun job I’ve ever had and I miss it every day! I can talk about this for hours though, so I’ll leave it at that (but if you ever want to talk about bats please do)! ;)

After that, I landed a job as a chemist at Mylan Pharmaceuticals in St. Albans, VT. I spent 5 years there as a member of their Quality Control team within the pharmaceutical lab, ensuring safe & quality prescription medications were being produced for our customers.

In 2017, my husband, Chris, and I adopted Ellie! Ellie was my first rescue dog. Man, was I in way over my head with her! Until then, my experience with dogs was limited to working with well behaved service dogs. Enter Ellie: anxious, reactive, fear aggressive, insecure…the whole nine. Did you know that she attacked another dog during the first week that we had her? I went home and cried for hours. Our lives were flipped upside down. So naturally, we reached out for help & began our training journey. Little did I know that my life was about to change for the better, forever.

I was able to help Ellie go from an anxious wreck to a confident, well-balanced dog with a lust for life. (I mean, look at her now! She has turned into one of my most reliable helpers when training other insecure, reactive dogs!) Being a part of her transformation and watching her gain confidence in every aspect of her life was by far the most proud & fulfilled I had ever felt.

Let’s fast forward to the holiday season of 2020. We unexpectedly inherited a traumatized pandemic puppy. She was literally given to us while at a family dinner out of an act of desperation. Surprise!

At just 12 weeks old, Ginger was so immensely terrified of everything that she could barely exist in her own skin (let alone attempting to do any training to help her). If I brought her in my car, she got so anxious & worked up that she puked all over my back seat. Can you imagine being THAT stressed out ALL THE TIME?? It was heartbreaking.

I spent the MONTHS working with her to build her confidence, show her the world is a safe & fun place, and nail down some basic obedience. However, I never felt like I was enough. I was working full time at Mylan and I didn’t have the mental, emotional, or physical capacity to work with her. I felt like a failure to her and myself.

The entire time I was thinking, “I wish I could be a stay at home dog mom. My dogs have the potential to be SO much more, and they can live their best lives if I just had the time to train them.” Which leads to where I am today!

I enrolled in & graduated from a course called My Dog Camp. I learned how to train & hike with dogs for a career. It’s the best thing I’ve ever done for myself and my dogs!

Since then, I’ve taken many online courses & attended multiple training workshops.

I am a proud graduate of the following courses & subjects:

| Happy Rescue Dogs Online Course | My Dog Camp Online Course | E-Collar Training | Puppy Training | Play to Train |

Plus, I’m currently enrolled in a Master Dog Trainer’s program!

If you’ve made it this far through my story, THANK YOU!

Thank you for choosing me, for showing interest, for your support, for sharing my business with your friends & family…the list is endless.

This new journey of entrepreneurship has been a while ride (especially during a pandemic…am I crazy?!), but I can confidently say that I’ve found my passion in life; Helping you and your dog live the best life possible together!