Hi! For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Kelly Drake and I am one of the trainers at the Conneaut Lake Bark Park. I have been deeply involved with dogs in both a private and professional capacity for approximately 7 years. I teach Rally Obedience at the Bark Park on Friday nights. My hobbies include herding with my dog, photography, and reading my collection of over 200 dog related books which includes fiction, mysteries and training books. In 2008, I became a published writer when my short story, “The Whistle”, won the AKC Gazette short fiction contest. In my spare time, I also write book and product reviews for Animal Radio.
My obsession with dogs began with the adoption of a 9 year old special needs boxer named Joey. I was inspired by his story and all that he had been through prior to coming to live with us. Having him be part of our family helped me make the decision to become an advocate for animals. I began working at the Crawford County Humane Society after his adoption, where I remained for a year. I was accepted into grooming school and took a position at PetSmart, as a stylist and was promoted to manager shortly thereafter. I groomed professionally until the commute and the long hours became overwhelming. I now am employed as an office manager for Children's Behavioral Health.
My four legged family has continued to grow over the past several years. My interest in training began when we added our second dog, a young, over-exuberant boxer named Wizard to our home. Joey hated him from the moment he came in the front door. Desperate to help them work out their differences, I consulted the help of multiple trainers and read everything I could get my hands on regarding dog-dog aggression. Thus, my fascination with training and behavior began. Training Wiz was frustrating to say the least, but worth the effort. I am proud to report that I did earn a Novice Rally obedience title with him and that he and Joey became good friends. Unfortunately we lost Joey in 2006, but he had a very happy life with our family. In addition to Wiz, my four legged family now consists of Killian, a bullmastiff, who was given up by his previous owner. You may have met Killian at the park, because he is our resident temperament tester. Then we have the real boss of my household, my 4 year old Belgian Tervuren, Adazia. She was named for the Navajo word for “little sister” since she is the only girl god in our house. She has been my greatest challenge as a trainer. She is extremely eager to learn, however, not always eager to comply with my wishes. She likes to try to do things her own way. We are currently pursuing our Herding Started title and have a Novice Rally title as well. In addition we hope to be able to test for our Companion Dog (CD) title in obedience next year. The last and final dog in our family is Jolt, Deja’s brother, who came to live with us to be my daughter Abbigail’s junior handling dog. Abby and her dad show Jolt in conformation and junior handling and Jolt recently earned his therapy dog certification through Therapy Dogs Incorporated.
I really enjoy meeting other people who are crazy about their dogs! Being able to meet the Bark Park clients and hear their stories has been a wonderful experience. By doing the temperament testing, I have been able to share my knowledge and educate pet owners about their furry friends. But my favorite part is teaching Rally because I love to see the bond that forms between people and their pets when they learn to work together as a team.
