About Us

I grew up in Whitecourt, Alberta, and moved to the island in February of 2022. I’ve been in love with not only the beauty of the island but also the culture and diversity of people that call this place home.

At home, I have Trixie, a pitbull x black Labrador, as well as a black cat named Kitty. The three of us love to go on walks together and spend our days in the sun. My hobbies include camping and hiking, as well as attending local events.

Growing up, I’ve always had a deep passion and love for animals, so as soon as I got the chance to turn that passion into a career, I took it, which is when I fell in love with grooming.

I believe that grooming is a field that you can never stop learning, which is why I’m always looking to further my knowledge by attending seminars and expos. I am in the process of becoming fear free certified, I am pet first aid trained, as well as certified through the safety program with the AKC.

My favourite way to spend my day is getting to know all of the individual personalities that come into the salon and getting to treat them all with the love and attention that they deserve.

Kelsey has been with K9HQ since 2012. She was born and raised in Victoria and has always had a passion for dogs. Her experience began with in-home pet sitting, group dog walking, volunteering for the SPCA and fostering orphaned puppies. She was thrilled at the opportunity to pursue a formal education in evidence-based dog training, receiving her CTC (Certificate in Training & Counselling) in 2016 from the Academy for Dog Trainers, an extensive 2-year program widely known as the “Harvard of Dog Trainers.“ This certification holds her to the use of humane, evidence-based training that supports the welfare of owners and their dogs. She strongly values treating animals humanely and listening to their needs and she feels fortunate to be in a position where she can make a difference in the lives of so many dogs.

Kelsey’s passion is in puppy training. She understands how easy fear is to install and how difficult it can be to train out, which has led her on a mission to optimize on positive experiences for her puppy clients in order to minimize their risk of developing fear or aggressive behaviour as they grow.

Kelsey is certified in DogSafe Canine First Aid and holds a Certificate for Training & Counselling (CTC) from The Academy for Dog Trainers

Allison Schaefer has been certified as a behaviour consultant through two independent certifying bodies: she is a Certified Behavior Consultant Canine – Knowledge Assessed through the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers, as well as a Certified Dog Behaviour Consultant through the International Association of Animal Behaviour Consultants. Allison is committed to providing practical, humane, individually tailored behaviour solutions to her clients and their dogs. She also regularly pursues continuing education from experts in the field of modern animal behaviour modification, and her clients benefit in kind. Allison lives in Sooke with her senior pit bull mix, Marlo, who is her greatest educator in the ways of reactive and fearful dogs, as well as her Rough Collie, Joni, who is her assistant and partner in her training business. Allison has a special empathy for owners of reactive and aggressive dogs. Being an owner of a reactive dog herself, she knows what it is like!

Samantha started instructing classes at K9HQ in 2021. She works in the service & guide dog industry and has raised 5 service/guide dogs in training, herself. Her first puppy, Shamus, moved on to work as a mobility service dog for a few years before deciding on early retirement re-joining her family. She also shares her home with a rescue pup named Lump. She is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer through CCPDT and enjoys continuing her education through conferences, seminars and reading training books and articles. When she’s not working you can find her camping, reading or hiking with her pups or ideally a combination of all three! With a positive approach to problem-solving and a love of working with people and dogs, Samantha is very enthusiastic about training people and their pets!

Chelsea has been with K9HQ since August 2022. She grew up with dogs and loves to give the dogs kisses and cuddles at work. She enjoys caring for her leopard gecko, Ollie, her two dogs, Boots and Wally, and her many fish at home. She loves expanding her knowledge within the pet care industry.

We’ll share Emma’s bio soon!