Unleashed

After the horrific school shooting in a California high school, Debbie Kendrick, hands-on grandma and & vice-president helped arrange for Comfort Dogs to help ease the re opening of the school for students.  It was a positive experience.  Listen to all the tidbits of how these dogs helped.

BIO:

Debbie Kendrick has been with Animal Behavior College since the school opened in 1998. A top-level dog training professional, she has more than 40 years of experience in the pet services industry and has served many roles, including pet behavior modification expert, consultant, and business analyst. Through out her professional career, Ms. Kendrick has successfully forged invaluable relationships with industry manufacturers, retailers, organizations, and animal shelters.

She began her illustrious career in 1974 under the apprenticeship of an AKC Dog Obedience Judge and Master Trainer. After completing the 1-year apprenticeship, Ms. Kendrick competed in obedience trials across California from 1975 to 1979, titling her own dogs in both basic and advanced obedience. She and her beloved German Shepherd, Hector, were also winners of the prestigious “Will Judy” award, given to dog/owner teams who earn at least 195 out of 200 points at three high-level obedience competitions during a single season. This, coupled with her winning the Top Dog Award at the Southern California Dog Obedience Trials, gave Ms. Kendrick the experience and reputation to successfully own and operate a dog training business from 1980 to 1988.

In 1988, after meeting Steven Appelbaum, then owner of Animal Behavior & Training Associates, Inc. (ABTA), he offered Ms. Kendrick the position of Head Trainer of dog training programs at three Southern California locations. She accepted the offer, and as a result of her efficacious leadership, the locations soon ranked among the Top 10 dog training facilities in the state. Ms. Kendrick received several promotions, including Regional Training Manager and National Sales Manager. In 1998, Mr. Appelbaum asked her to share in his vision of creating a nationwide school where canine enthusiasts could obtain the appropriate education and training necessary to become certified professional dog trainers. She accepted and was named Vice President of the newly created Animal Behavior College (ABC).

In addition to the immeasurable contributions she made to ABC, in 2004, Ms. Kendrick translated her dog training passion into the creation of a campaign to improve the rehabilitation and adoption rate of shelter dogs. She named the campaign Students Saving Lives, which provides shelter dogs with one-on-one training from ABC’s Dog Obedience Program students. Before a student graduates, he or she is asked to donate a minimum of 10 hours of training to a local animal shelter, humane society or rescue organization. Each student works with homeless canines to address behaviors and socialization problems that often get in the way of the dogs’ adoptions. As of September 2017, ABC students have donated more than 140,000 hours through the program.

Ms. Kendrick received a nomination for the 2001/2002 edition of the International Who’s Who of Professionals and has written articles in pet industry publications, including Fido Friendly Magazine and the now defunct Dog Fancy Magazine.

She is an ABC Certified Level 2 Dog Trainer (ABCDT-L2), a professional member of the Association of Professional Dog Trainers (APDT) and a supporting member in the dog division of International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC).

In her much coveted free time, Ms. Kendrick enjoys relaxing with her family and her three rescue dogs, Roxy, Jazz and Gabby, as well as, doing chores on her ranch located in Southern California.