Steph Steph

I've known Tony at Bernal Beast for about 17 years now, as I frequent the shop for food and treats for my own dogs and the dogs in my care. We engaged in some mutual marketing for each other many moons ago, when I was still running my puppy daycare facility, SF Puppy Prep, which I co-founded in 2005. When I approached Tony recently about doing some training in his pet shop, I genuinely wanted to promote the neighborhood shop and create more of a revenue stream for what I considered an important local shop in the neighborhood losing small businesses to online shopping left and right. I didn't have in mind taking over the retail shop, but when Tony approached me about it, I jumped at the opportunity and was excited to bring my co-parent and business partner, Alan Belgard into the fold. I feel that continuing Tony's original dream and being part of the Bernal community, where I have lived for the last 17 years, would be a wonderful way to continue to support and be a part of the community I love.I'm a Bay Area native and have been working with animals since 2001. After moving away for college and graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in History from Tulane University in 1998, I returned home to San Francisco to be closer to my family. I took a job at Mission Pet Hospital in the receptionist role, thinking I wanted to study veterinary care.At the hospital, I was introduced to the SF SPCA Academy for Dog Trainers by one of the vets. I followed the dog trainer path and never looked back! I am proud to hold an Honor's Certificate in Training & Counseling from the world-renown SF/SPCA Academy for Dog Trainers, which I received in 2001, and a post-Academy honors Certificate in Curriculum Development & Design, which I received in 2002. I'm a dedicated professional member of the Association of Professional Dog Trainers and am Pet First Aid and CPR certified. I'm probably best known locally for co-founding San Francisco's first puppy-only daycare and training center, SF PUPPY PREP. An innovative program based on the preventative power of early socialization, SF Puppy Prep was one of the first of its kind anywhere. I ran an off-leash dog walking program and private training consulting business called Recess With Steph for the last 9 years and throughout this time, I have taught public dog training classes at various locations, including the SF SPCA. Having worked with hundreds of families and their dogs to prevent and resolve all manner of behavior issues, I have been recently become certified by The Family Dog, which helped me hone my skills to help two- and four-legged children grow up harmoniously together. I use only scientifically-sound, humane, positive training methods.Training should be fun as well as effective‚ Also you can enjoy not only the positive changes, but the process of getting there, too. I have been curating the products at Bernal Beast to reflect animal learning theory concepts, animal enrichment, and long-term mental and physical health.