Born and raised in the Seattle area, Tasha has had a lifelong passion for learning everything she could about dogs and how their remarkable minds work. Tasha has worked professionally with dogs in a variety of capacities since 2011, though she also fostered for the Seattle Humane Society for many years before that. She has a background working in vet clinics, doggy daycares, boarding facilities, and in animal rescue, while always gravitating back toward the field of canine behavior and training. Tasha worked for many years at Alachua County Animal Resources as both a kennel technician and as the shelter’s Behavior and Enrichment Coordinator which placed her in charge of the training and mental welfare needs of all the pets eagerly awaiting their forever homes. After leaving the county shelter, she taught training classes at the Lake City PetSmart for a while before striking out on her own. Tasha has enjoyed many years playing a wide variety of dog sports with her personal dogs including flyball, agility, nosework, barn hunt, disc dog, and competition obedience. She is also an AKC Approved Canine Good CItizen Evaluator. Tasha is a firm believer in continuing education, always on a quest for more knowledge. As a Certified Professional Dog Trainer - Knowledge Assessed, Tasha is committed to training using a Least Intrusive, Minimally Aversive approach, relying heavily on positive reinforcement to help everyone involved in the training process be their best selves. She currently shares her life with Leo, a 12 year old Border Collie mix, Aspen, an 8 year old street dog from Puerto Rico, and Toast, an 18 month old Border Terrier.