Meet the Trainers!
Through our Pixie’s Pen Pals foster program, inmates at Virginia correctional facilities foster and train dogs to prepare them for adoption. Both the dogs and inmates meet on a weekly basis with a professional dog trainer to help the dogs learn skills in obedience, behavior, and general manners. We have two fantastic trainers on our team:
Ani Bertot, CPDT-KA
A Miami native and former NYC/Jersey City resident now living in Richmond, Ani Bertot has trained dogs up, down, and all across the East Coast. As a Harvard graduate, Ani decided to channel her background in psychology into the world of canine behavior. After earning certifications through Karen Pryor Academy and CCPDT, she founded Ani Bertot Dog Training in 2020 and has continued to diversify her expertise within the field ever since. Her dog training is centered on physical wellness and mental rehabilitation via organic behavior training and enriching activities using scent-work, sport skills, adventure hikes, and socialization camps. She is currently working on attaining a CBCC certification for behavior consulting.
Her life’s work is to help every dog who comes her way find greater harmony, purpose, confidence—and, of course, plenty of good treats.
Laura Folsom, CPDT-KA
Laura has her Bachelor’s in Marine Biology and was a marine mammal trainer for 8 years before making the switch to working with dogs and their humans! She worked with seals, sea lions, dolphins, otters, walruses, and lots of other exotic animals using positive reinforcement training – which is why she continues to use these methods to teach dogs and their guardians how to coexist more peacefully! She started training dogs about 6 years ago in NYC, moved to Richmond in 2020, started her own business in 2022 (River City Dog Training), and couldn’t imagine a more fulfilling way to help people in their daily lives.
Our Pen Pal pups are always in need of some human help. Contact our Pen Pals Coordinator, Daniel Rasnick to learn about volunteer opportunities at daniel@fetchacure.org or consider purchasing supplies off our Amazon Wishlist.