Hi! I’m Katie. I live on Milwaukee’s East Side with my husband, Zack, and our two dogs, Lily and JJ. Zack and I both grew up with dogs and love spending our lives with them. We adopted Lily and JJ in the spring of 2021 and quickly realized that we all needed some training if we were all going to flourish. Our first step was contacting Jenn and taking some classes with SideKick. I’m very happy to report that our lives are much happier and more harmonious now, and I fell in love with dog training along the way.

My day job is as a philosophy professor at a local university. I find great joy in meeting learners where they are and trying to really understand what another, whether human or doggo, is trying to communicate. My academic research is on the philosophy of play, so I love being able to bring my interests in philosophy and dogs together. I believe that play and humor are central to developing relationships and building success on both ends of the leash. The geeky side of me also relishes being a student again and taking lots of classes and reading up on dog behavior and animal learning theory. I’m working on becoming a Certified Professional Dog Trainer - Knowledge Assessed (CPDT-KA) and am excited to keep learning.

Lily, my energetic, fun-loving black Lab, and I participate in NACSW nosework and are getting started in dock diving. JJ, my sensitive, power-cuddler Pyrenees mix loves hiking and all forms of cheese. The pups have pretty opposite personalities, but are still the best of friends. When not curled up on the couch with the dogs, Zack and I enjoy cooking, trying out new restaurants, traveling, and rock climbing.