Canine Training

Roberta Guertin, CPDT-KA

Roberta Guertin began as an AWS volunteer in 2010 and came on board as an animal care technician in 2015. Her interest in dog training started at home with her fearful shih-tzu and grew throughout her time at AWS. She…

Laura DesMarais, CPDT-KA

Laura Desmarais started her dog training career as a student of the Animal Behavior College program. In 2020 she spent time job shadowing AWS trainers as a volunteer and within no time, she was teaching classes of her own. Laura…

Brenda Horowitz, CPDT-KA

Brenda Horowitz decided to become a trainer after adopting a reactive dog. Through his training process, she became intrigued with how dogs learn. She worked with and learned from many remarkable trainers until she decided to pursue a career in…

Melissa McCue-McGrath, CPDT-KA

Melissa McCue-McGrath is a dog trainer, behavior consultant, presenter, and author. She earned her dog training certification through CCPDT in 2008 and has been working with dogs in sports, manners, and behavior since 2005. She served as the co-training director…

Kim VanSickle, CPDT-KA

Kim VanSickle has been a canine training professional for 30 years and has has seen the profession grow significantly, becoming more science-based. Her career began after earning her Associate of Science degree (AAS) from UNH. She first worked training police…

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@aws.maine

The cats and dogs at AWS are ready for another friendly competition this Giving Tuesday on November, 28! Who will win?This year's competition centers around which species is the Coziest Companion: Cats or Canines? Throughout the day on Giving Tuesday, follow along on our social media pages as the pets and people of AWS try to convince you which of their favorite species deserves your support as the coziest, cuddliest animal. 

Remember, the team who raises the most funds on Tuesday will be crowned this year’s Giving Tuesday winner. Most importantly, all funds raised in this friendly competition support pet care here at AWS. We look forward to seeing which pet comes out on top as the coziest companion! 

(psst! You can help your favorite team get ahead by donating early on our website. Just follow the link tree in our profile to the Giving Tuesday page!)
Does your dog or cat need an updated rabies vaccine or microchip? Come visit us on Saturday, December 2 from 9am - Noon to receive either or both for FREE! We're here to help the people and pets of our community stay happy and healthy! 

This event is FREE, but we ask that you please register in advance on our events page so we can establish a timeframe for the day.
Humans aren't the only ones who enjoy a good Thanksgiving feast! We love sharing festive foods with all our furry friends at AWS! 🍂

𝐖𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐟𝐟 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟. 𝐖𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬. 𝐖𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐰𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬, 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝!