Cindy Clement
ABC Admissions Counselor

Cindy Clement has loved animals all her life but it was not until Animal Behavior College, that Cindy was able to combine her love of animals with her career. Prior to Animal Behavior College, she worked in the dating industry helping hundreds of people to find their dream dates/mates. Cindy always wanted to help the four legged friends, who have “no voice” so when she noticed that Animal Behavior College was looking for Admissions Counselors to join the ABC team, she was quick to apply. In May of 2001, Cindy was hired as an Admissions Counselors and has been helping people get started in their dream career ever since. It is important for Cindy to know she is making a difference in improving peoples’ lives. She says “Following your passion is the most exciting journey you can enjoy. The people that are the happiest and most successful on this planet are doing exactly what they love. With the pet industry continuing to grow at a significant rate, people are able to have a great career doing something that they love to do!” She wants people to enjoy their career as much as she does. Cindy believes that an owner/dog relationship is the purest form of love there is. Dogs are our guardian angels and it is so rewarding to have a career making a difference in people’s lives as well as dogs.

Cindy has a black Labrador mix, Cinder, who is 9 years old. She has attended private training and group classes with her dog. Cindy even had her certified trainer teach her dog, Shadow how to retrieve drinks from the refrigerator and then throw away the empty cans in the kitchen garbage can while Cindy watched movies on the couch.

Cindy wants all of the students she has enrolled to let her know when their Animal Planet shows, books, and/or movies are coming out! “You and your dogs are all going to be huge stars!”

Mike Powers
ABC Admissions Counselor

Mike Powers was born in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles California. After serving duty during the Vietnam War, he attended California State University in Northridge where he earned a degree in Business. Mike has many interests and has worked in radio broadcasting, numerous voice-over projects and has been a musician for over 40 years. It was his love for music that led to a 20 year career as a Music Executive. However when the industry took a major downturn after September 11, 2001, Mike found himself looking for a new career.

It was his life long love and affection for animals that brought Mike to Animal Behavior College. He became an Admissions Counselor in January 2004 and has since helped hundreds of people take their first step towards a career in the animal industry. “We enroll all kinds of people,” says Mr. Powers. “Some who are just getting started on a first career and others who are looking for a new career after having been in such fields as the legal profession, aviation, medicine, education, law enforcement and many others. They want to get involved in a career that they can be passionate about,” he continues, “and there is certainly a huge demand for Certified Dog Trainers and Vet Assistants. People realize that they can make money doing something they truly enjoy and Animal Behavior College shows them how.”

Mike has raised and trained numerous dogs including Huskies, Samoyeds, Malamutes, Irish Setters and Cocker Spaniels, as well as parrots and cats.

Sherri Knowles
ABC Admissions Counselor

Sherri started working at Animal Behavior College in 2004 shortly after a major company lay-off that effected many company employees including herself. Following her hiatus (a much needed time to reflect), Sherri noticed an ad for an Admission Counselor at ABC that read, “Must Love Dogs.” Instead of taking just another “job” she knew, at that moment, that ABC was the place for her!

Sherri had dogs well before she had children and that love of pups stayed with her growing family. At one time, they even bred Shih tzu’s! Besides dogs, Sherri’s family raised a pair of pigs, ducks, rabbits, chickens, and a Shetland pony. Currently, an adopted Akita-Sheppard mix named Jeopardy is the love of her house.

“Many people that own a dog think all they have to do is feed and water their pet and watch it grow.” There is so much more involved and Sherri believes in educating people on how to be a responsible pet owner and by enrolling people in ABC fits that bill perfectly! Whether it be a career in the training or pet health industry or the simple pleasure of working with dogs, helping people do what they love is Sherri’s joy.

Sherri has seen ABC become number one in the dog training industry and takes great pleasure in helping people, from all walks of life, do something they love and is happy to be a part of it.

SueAnn O’Connor
ABC Admissions Counselor

Born in Japan, SueAnn grew up around animals. Dogs, cats, reptiles, birds, all animals found their way into her heart. Her strong passion for our furry (and feathered) friends, came from her mother who raised Dalmatians while living in Yokohama, Japan. But SueAnn’s favorite pet as a child, by far, had to be a little chick named Yuki which she raised until it became a full grown chicken! Yuki was such a big part of the family; she would even sleep in SueAnn’s bed!

With a background in Advertising and Marketing, SueAnn was a successful Copy Editor working advertising layouts for culinary magazines. Along with a strong, creative eye, SueAnn’s previous professions found our Sweet Sue in promotional sales and nursing. Her BA in Anthropology is something that she is most proud of.

Today, SueAnn is devoted to her 5 year old Shih Tzu, named Suzie. No, she didn’t name her pup after herself. Suzie was a rescue (who was already named) that SueAnn fostered, fell in love with, then adopted. Talk about fate!

Although she does not have previous animal related business experience, SueAnn was drawn to ABC for her ability to help others realize their career goals with animals. “ABC is my passion. Especially because of the people I get to work with and build lasting relationships with the students. I love being their cheerleader. It’s very fulfilling to know that I was part of helping a person achieve their dreams and goals.”

Deb House
ABC Admissions Counselor and ABC Honor Graduate

Deb has always had a love for animals. She says she used to want to be a veterinarian as a child, but pursued a BS in Business instead. Early in her career, she served as a Director of Marketing for a start up company that manufactured nutritional supplements for dogs, cats and horses. Although, she loved this job, it kept her traveling the majority of the year visiting key accounts. After 9/11 she found herself looking for a career that would keep her close to home.

After working outside of the pet industry for a few years, she was so excited when she found out Animal Behavior College was looking for Admissions Counselors. As an Admission Counselor, Deb is able to help fellow animal lovers across the country and assist them in achieving their career goals in the animal industry.

In addition to two dogs and a cat of her own, Deb fosters and rehabilitates greyhounds out of the racetracks in Tucson, AZ for a rescue organization in Malibu, CA. Harley is the latest addition to the family.

Her favorite part of the Dog Obedience program is our "Student Saving Lives" campaign. Through our students, both in the United States and in Canada, we've saved thousands of dogs in shelters from euthanasia simply by teaching them basic obedience or correcting problem behaviors. Deb says “It is wonderful to see our students continue to give back to their communities and assist in shelter rehabilitation and adoption well after graduation.”

Chris Walter
ABC Admissions Counselor

Chris is pictured with Blossom, the family pet. Chris joined the ABC family after a long career in the service industry. Chris says, "one of the most rewarding things about dog training is seeing the results of your work when the dog and its owner's relationship is dramatically improved." Chris's love of animals developed at an early age when he and his brother raised German Shepherds, cats, goats, chickens, rats, mice, and hamsters, just to name a few. Chris also had 2 Catalina Island Boarhogs and a lamb as pets. As a teenager, Chris worked for a well known trainer of animals for television and motion picture work.

We are proud to have Chris as part of the ABC team!

Dona Soto
ABC Admissions Counselor

Dona has always had a love for animals. Growing up she had three dogs, two cats and a duck! And no, she didn’t live on a farm! Always having animals in her home as part of the family, she has a deep desire that all animals be treated with love.

Having over 6 years of admissions counselor experience, helping those attain their educational goals and matching them with their desired occupation, brings a smile to her face. The most rewarding part of her role at ABC is that with our program students will be able to train others how to love their pet’s right!

Mike "MG" Gulotta
ABC Admissions Counselor

MG is our very own “cowboy” as growing up on a sprawling West Coast ranch, in the lovely Santa Rosa Valley, is where his love of animals began. As a child, MG had several family pets, but one rescue in particular holds a prominent and vivid memory. MG recounts finding a tiny, newborn kitten that was left alone in the wild. After scooping it up and bringing it home, MG nursed the kitten back to health by keeping it warm and feeding it every hour with an eyedropper. Kipper, very quickly, became the family favorite and long-time member.

After a long career in the Business and Financial world, MG joins the ABC family with renewed commitment to our four-legged loves. Realizing that people in the pet industry not only love what they do, but they are, in fact, passionate about it, MG finds it a privilege to help our students realize their dreams. “What better career is there than to have one where you can’t wait to get started every day. Our ABC Certified Dog Trainers go out and make a difference in the world by improving the relationships between pets and their owners through professional training.”

We are proud to have MG as a member of the ABC pack.