ABOUT US

I attended the Starmark Academy in Austin, TX and upon completing the 4 month course work in 2010 I graduated as a Certified Professional Dog Trainer & Behavior Specialist . I returned home to Brooklyn, NY where I took a job with Urban K-9 and had the opportunity to be mentored by Dani Santanella. Working with Dani helped me transfer what I had learned at Starmark to the people and the problems they were dealing with in real time. With support from Dani I began taking on my own clients and Ace Pet Services was born. 

I named my company Ace after my father’s first company Ace Diagnostics, an auto repair business. I always remember my father working tirelessly to deliver the best customer service to his clients. This is something I wanted to emulate and provide to my own clients.

I first started working with people and their dogs by offering private lessons. After 8 months of private lessons and dog walking I boarded my first dog, Penny the dachshund in my modest Brooklyn basement apartment. Penny was a firecracker and I enjoyed figuring out new ways to keep her busy and content. Walks, training and field trips to Prospect Park were worked into our routine and I quickly saw that I could create a dog’s ultimate vacation with my available resources. 

Shortly after Penny’s stay I decided to move to the first floor and transform the basement with the goal of making it totally dedicated to my new house guests. Clean and safe were my two priorities followed closely by fun. I called it Dog World and constantly made improvements to make it as enjoyable as possible for each dog. 

For five years I boarded dogs in Brooklyn. After 3+ years of boarding I had what would become a life changing guest - Finn the pointer mix. Finn boarded with me over Thanksgiving 2013 and while he was one of my most energetic, he blended in beautifully with the rest of the group. It wasn’t until three months later that Finn started developing separation anxiety and I started doing private lessons with Stephanie. 

I had never worked with anyone like Stephanie. Her dedication to Finn and leaving no stone unturned was a pleasure and kept me at my best. We got Finn much more comfortable being left alone and after our last lesson we left Finn alone and went on a date! That date was a success because soon after we moved in together and Stephanie joined the APS family.

After another 2 years in Brooklyn we decided it was time for a change of scenery and moved to Denver. After a year of getting familiar with our new state we bought a house in Arvada specifically with boarding dogs in mind. We lived in Arvada from 2016 through 2022 and had over 500 doggie guests stay with us!

The inevitable twist and turns of life sprang up at the end of 2022. After 6 years of boarding dogs in Colorado we decided we needed a change. Stephanie left the company, we sold our house and I moved back to New York. Now, back in Brooklyn, I've taken Ace Pet Services back to its roots, helping people train their dogs in the unique place that NYC is.