Andy grew up in Eureka, California. Their dad was a Registered Veterinary Technician and Andy spent many hours of their childhood visiting the vet hospital and listening to stories from dad’s work. Andy graduated from Sonoma State University in 2004 with a BA in Psychology and went to work at Family Life Center in Petaluma, CA working with teenage girls in a group home setting.
In 2006 Andy was hired at Canine Companions for Independence in Santa Rosa, CA. Andy spent a three-year apprenticeship learning to train assistance dogs to retrieve dropped items, turn on and off light switches, pull wheelchairs and other important tasks.
In 2013 Andy was hired by Dogs for Better Lives (then Dogs for the Deaf) in Central Point, OR as a Certified Assistance Dog Trainer. Andy trained hearing dogs to alert people who are deaf and hard of hearing to important sounds such as the phone, alarm clock, smoke alarm and door knocks. Andy became the Training Manage in 2016 and led the training department until they decided to move to the East Coast in 2020. Andy continued with Dogs for Better Lives as a Program Field Representative for the Northeast and Southeast Regions, helping clients who had dogs from Dogs for Better Lives with their needs.
Andy is thrilled to be part of the team at ORVH while continuing to work part time for Dogs for Better Lives. They love seeing the pets come in each day and doing whatever they can to assist them in leaving a bit healthier and happier.
Andy lives at home with their spouse, and many pets including dogs, a cat, frogs, canaries, a lizard, hamsters, a tortoise, chickens and turkeys.
