Cheryl started her work in animal welfare as a long-time volunteer at NorCal German Shorthaired Pointer Rescue, and she eventually became their Executive Director. Her time with that organization taught her the importance of focusing on the behavioral needs of rescue animals alongside their medical needs. When she welcomed Kasper, a German Shorthaired Pointer / Catahoula Leopard Dog mix into her home as a foster dog, she had to brush up quickly on her behavior and training knowledge to help him thrive. During that process, she was inspired to get a training certification from Karen Pryor Academy so she could better support Kasper and dogs like him. As a bonus, she started training chickens at Luvin Arms Animal Sanctuary to fulfill her second-species requirement for Karen Pryor Academy. Cheryl quickly fell in love with learning more about training with rescued farm animals. She eventually went on to co-create an enrichment program at Luvin Arms in which many of the sanctuary residents benefit from regular clicker training with volunteer partners. Cheryl also recently completed a master’s program in Clinical Animal Behaviour from the University of Edinburgh, where she completed a dissertation on positive reinforcement training with chickens. Cheryl is inspired to work with all species of animals, and especially loves putting her education and skills to work for the shelter dogs at HSBV. She has a special interest in using enrichment to build resilience in shelter dogs. When not training or learning about behavior, Cheryl enjoys hiking, reading, finding new vegan food spots, and spending time with her pups – the infamous Kasper, and Misty, a former foster dog from HSBV.
