Janis Crary grew up on a farm in Spring Green, Wisconsin, surrounded by cats, dogs, cows and other animals. Whenever she saw a service dog, something tugged at her heart strings. Retiring after 30 yrs. from GTE (now Verizon), she became a volunteer with Fort Wayne’s Animal Care and Control, where she has been for the past thirteen years. Her job duties include the lost and found area, welcoming of guests in the adoption area, and dog and cat adoption counseling. She even fosters kittens and puppies while donating her time and skills as a trainer in their Head Start program and training their staff on Dog Behaviors. Still her heart strings were being tugged, which led to the adoption of a German Shepherd, Ava, with the intention of training her to be a therapy dog. This training was successfully completed in October 2006 through Canine Companion. As a working therapy dog team, Jan and Ava visit Sacred Heart Nursing Home in Avilla, IN, weekly. They enjoying the smiles and laughter as Ava receives hugs from residents and staff. Janis was so impressed with how Positive Reinforcement Training works, she began studying to become a trainer with Canine Companions by Certified Trainers. Janis now teaches Puppy Development, Canine Pet Manners, Behavior Modification, Learning Theory, Private Instruction and Therapy Dog classes. Mainly teaching at our Columbia City location, she accepts private behavior modification appointments as well. Janis wants everyone to remember, “A dog is never too old to learn something new… and neither are humans.” Janis has taken over the Instruction for the courses developed by the late Susan Sharpe, CPDT-KA, CA-1 at E-Training for Dogs, Inc.