Valerie Warde
ABC Lead Externship Coordinator

Valerie is a native of California and has had a genuine passion for all animals her entire life. Her first experience was volunteering at Wildlife on Wheels, which is where she was trained to handle a variety of different wild animals. During the 4 years that she volunteered, she worked with a Canadian lynx, an African Seville, a myriad of bird species, Australian wallabies and assorted reptiles.

In 2003 she was accepted for a year long internship position working with Orangutans at the Los Angeles Zoo. Her internship with the Orangutans taught her the importance of positive reinforcement and relationship building in training. In 2004 she completed her internship with the Orangutans and was accepted as a part time Animal Keeper Assistant at the zoo. This position allowed her to work with a different variety of primates which further enhanced her communication skills with animals.

In addition to the volunteer work she does for the zoo, she also does volunteer work with the San Pedro Mammal Care Center working with sick Seal Lions and Elephant Seals. This work involves treating them and then releasing them back into the wild.

Her genuine love for animals made her decision to begin dog sitting a natural one. She enjoyed utilizing the knowledge she had obtained through volunteering to help her nurture and care for the dogs. Valerie enrolled in the ABC Obedience Instructor Training Program in early 2005 and officially joined the Animal Behavior College team as an Externship Coordinator shortly thereafter. Valerie says she is proud to be part of a team that cares so much about dogs and the people that love them.

Mike "Whit" Whittaker
ABC Externship Coordinator

Growing up in New York, Whit was surrounded by dogs, German Shepherds primarily. Forever looking out for the abandoned stray, Whit recalls one of his most important and delicate finds. Walking with friends along the Belt Parkway, he noticed a trash bag squirming among the dirt. Gently, he untied the bag and inside found five sweet little puppies. Saving the darling pups and finding each one a home was a full-time job. However, with perseverance, tenacity, and a little help from the family vet, he was able to do just that!

Whit comes to ABC from the mortgage industry, but previously served in the United States Navy, serving in Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom. In 2007, Whit realized his dream of becoming a dog trainer himself and graduated from Animal Behavior College’s Dog Obedience Instructor Program. Yes, he’s one of our very own Alumni! Because of this, he’s able to share his experience with our students. “ABC was great! My Program Manager was available throughout my program and helped me through it all. The course material was complete and even more than I expected. The information was difficult to put down; it was very easy to do the one hour a day studying as the information kept me very interested!”

Over the years, Whit has adopted and rehabilitated several pups. Shadow, who truly thought he was a cat, a Rottweiler named Baron, and Diamond, a Chocolate Lab who was a born swimmer. His most recent cohort is Taz, his rescued Rottweiler, who was once very aggressive but is now a loveable sweetheart.

In our ever-changing, fast-paced environment, Whit draws upon his principals and ABC experience to assist our students in making the right choice for their careers. “The Navy’s core values are something that remains a part of my life. This, and understanding what each student is going through, allows me to address concerns as well as appreciate their excitement. I want to serve individuals and help guide people through the externship process, allowing them to realize their dreams of becoming an ABC certified dog trainer…just like I did.”

Joni Valentin
ABC Externship Coordinator

Joni is a long time resident of Tujunga, California where she resides with her husband Joe and her 14-year-old daughter, Kelly. Their beautiful half-acre piece of property is always full of activity as it is shared with six Rhode Island Red Chickens, two rescued Desert Tortoises, a bearded dragon, Jacoby, and an 80-gallon tank full of fish. However, Joni’s constant sidekick and best friend is her beloved Border Collie, Buddy. Joni says, “Buddy is amazing and loves to learn. He truly enjoys the process of training and will perform for any audience he can find.” His bag of tricks is impressive and not only consists of all the basics like sit, stay, and down, but also some of the more entertaining behaviors as well. Buddy will jump anything you tell him to, play dead (no easy task for a Border Collie) and even back up on cue. Buddy is no couch potato either, he ran the 10K Chinatown Year of the Dog race with Kelly, Joni’s daughter, in 2007.

Joni’s passion is anything involving children or animals. She loves working with ABC students because they love dogs as much as she does. Buddy often comes to work, and attends Pet Expos with her and ABC. Joni says, “the employees and pets of ABC are amazing - we are like one big family.”

Karen Hieger
ABC Externship Coordinator

ABC is proud to introduce you to Ms. Karen Hieger. Karen’s journey as an ABC pack member is quite unique. Although Ms. Hieger became an official ABC employee in 2010, she has actually been affiliated with ABC for over a decade.

Karen is a native of California and has been involved with dogs (and animals) all her life. Karen’s involvement with animals started early as the neighborhood pet-sitter. She also was known for rescuing dogs she found on the street or those who found her.

Karen has been training dogs for over 40 years. She began her dog training career at the tender age of 12 years as a Guide Dog Puppy Raiser through Guide Dogs for the Blind in San Rafael, CA. She and her younger sister, Eileen, raised 7 guide dog puppies, two of which went on to become Guides for the visually impaired.

During her adult years, she took a hiatus from training to travel with her first husband as a Navy dependant. Having moved an average of once a year over the next 6 years, Karen has a great appreciation for the life of military spouses.

She also spent 20 years as a Quality Control Inspector/Engineer for aerospace and military, and has an almost obsessive attention for detail.

Karen returned to professional dog training in 2000 when she adopted her dog Moose. She took him through a local dog training class at Petco in Simi Valley, where the training was provided by Animal Behavior & Training Associates, Inc., (ABTA), a sister-company to ABC. In 2003, she answered ABTA’s ad for dog trainers, and started training for the company shortly thereafter. In 2004, she went on to become a Dog Trainer for Petco and has mentored several of Petco’s new trainers.

In 2007, feeling that her dog training education was incomplete, Karen went through ABC’s Certified Dog Training Program and, in June of 2008, became an ABC Certified Dog Trainer. Happy with the education she received as a dog trainer, she signed up for ABC’s Veterinary Assistant Program the following October (2008) and will be graduating in early spring of 2010. In a couple of years, she hopes to go through ABC’s Grooming Program.

Karen, and her husband, Alan (who is also a Dog Trainer for Petco) live in Simi Valley with their dogs Moose, Wyatt, Annie, Raggs, and Random as well as 9 budgies. Karen is also an Evaluator for the American Kennel Club’s Canine Good Citizen as well as a Full Member with APDT (Association of Professional Dog Trainers). Karen also runs a small pet-sitting/dog walking business and is a member of Pet Sitters International.

In addition to her full-time duty as an ABC Externship Coordinator, Karen continues to train for Petco, and trains through the Conejo Recreation & Parks Department for ABC.

Covering the West Coast as well as Hawaii, Alaska, British Columbia, and the Yukon, Karen looks forward to helping ABC’s fledgling trainers through their externship onto their new careers as ABC Certified Dog Trainers.

Hrachia Stepanyan
ABC Externship Coordinator

Hrachia is a native of Hollywood, California and has had a genuine passion for animals since he was very young. He remembers waiting anxiously for his new copy of zoo books and then spending hours reading them to satisfy his thirst for knowledge for a variety of animals.

Hrachia is very fortunate to have parents who support his passion for animals. His first pets were Parakeets, Hamsters, Turtle, Chickens, Cats and Chinchilla’s. He also has fond memories of his childhood German Shepherd Dog named Dingo.

Hrachia graduated the Art Institute of California where he acquired his Bachelor Degree in Game Art & Design in March of 2007. However, he never lost his desire to educate himself about animals which led him directly to the animal career training programs offered at Animal Behavior College. A natural over-achiever, Hrachia decided to enroll in both the ABC Dog Obedience Instructor Training Program and the ABC Veterinary Assistant Program in early 2009. Mr. Stepanyan’s excellent grade point average and dedication to education prompted ABC to offer him a permanent position at our corporate office shortly thereafter. Hrachia officially joined the Animal Behavior College team as an Externship Coordinator in 2010.

Hrachia says he is very happy to be part of the team that cares a great deal for dogs and people that love them. Hrachia enjoys utilizing the knowledge he has obtained through both programs and believes that nothing in life is impossible.