Sarah Zimmer earned her Bachelor’s Degree in the Psychology of Animal Behavior and Training from Florida Tech, is a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant (CDBC) with the IAABC, and a certified Fear Free Animal Trainer, Veterinary Professional, and Pet Sitter. While earning her Bachelor’s, she interned at local shelters and pet stores working with their behavior and enrichment teams. Here she worked on socialization programs, puppy raising, kennel enrichment, basic obedience, managing arousal levels, addressing leash reactivity, and working with other fearful and anxious behaviors.

After college, Sarah spent several years with the Department of Defense through various military contracting companies to implement many of the same training and enrichment programs for working K9s raised in kennel environments. It was through this experience Sarah not only developed a passion for working breeds but also became a certified explosives detection canine handler and trainer, working with other canine handler teams throughout NFL stadiums, concert venues, and festival grounds as well as training scent detection, tracking, and bitework. Her work with the DOD eventually led to opportunities with the Department of Veterans Affairs, where she raised and trained PTSD service dogs before helping pair them with veterans in need. Her experience and passion for the working dogs she trained, handled, and eventually helped place into loving homes with other handlers extended to owners with working breeds experiencing behavior concerns such as fear, anxiety, over arousal, compulsive behaviors, and more. In addition to her work with K9s and service dogs, she expanded her services to owners of companion animals through training, enrichment, and furthering the human-animal bond.

Sarah continues to fulfill her passion for working dogs through Search and Rescue as well as dog sports like agility, dock diving, and scent work. She also competes in IGP and PSA (protection sports with multiple phases of agility, obedience, and bitework) while focusing her professional career on owners with companion animals experiencing behavior disorders and other concerns. Sarah went on to found her own company offering specialized boarding and pet care services for dogs with specific behavioral considerations who do not thrive in traditional boarding facilities. She also works with a local service dog organization to provide training and support to the puppy raising teams and active working dogs and handlers in the local children’s hospital. In addition, she is an online tutor and teaching assistant for students enrolled in canine behavior and welfare classes seeking their training and behavior consulting certifications in the United Kingdom.

Sarah was born and raised in Florida, but never liked the heat and humidity. After many snowboarding and hiking trips, she traded the beaches for her love of the cold, snow, and mountains to move to Colorado in 2020. She and her husband share their lives with five dogs – two pit mix rescues, two Dutch shepherds, and a Belgian malinois. In her spare time she enjoys reading fantasy and Star Wars novels, building Star Wars legos, snowboarding, and hiking mountains with her husband and dogs. She is also a huge sports enthusiast and spends every weekend during football season cheering on her Florida State Seminoles and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.