About Your Instructor

A physician – medical oncologist – by profession,  my involvement in training, breeding, and competition sports with dogs dates back decades.

Since the late 1980s, I’ve owned Bouvier des Flandres; during that time, I’ve trained and certified or titled at least one dog in therapy dog work, herding, carting, obedience, agility, protection sport, and nose work. 

One of my dogs could recognize and indicate patients with far-advanced breast cancer, so I developed a particular interest in canine scent abilities and explored it in relation to disease.

Once retired, I began training my own dog with mentor Miriam Rose (NW Noseworks), and then entered instructor training with Ron Gaunt, one of the founders of the sport and of the National Association of Canine Scent Work.

In 2010, I became certified by the NACSW as an instructor (CNWI), one of the first in the Pacific NW. My nosework Bouvier, Hawkeye, served as a demo dog at several Seattle Kennel Club shows promoting nose work.

He was the first Bouvier to hold a competitive nosework title and was a national TopTwenty Performance Dog in 2018.

Current Activites

• Teach nose work at all levels
• Do introductory presentations on canine nose work to local rescue groups and to regional and national breed and working dog clubs
• Co-host trials and mock trials with NW Noseworks
• Judge and certifying official for NACSW Odor Recognition Test
• Judge and search designer for the US Canine Scent Sport trials
• Judge at all levels for AKC scent work trials
• Scientific advisor to the Bouvier Health Foundation committee on glaucoma, after having served on the national Bouvier Health Foundation Board for 6 years
• Assist in breed rescue for the west coast
• Active in multiple regional and the national breed clubs (first American Bouvier des Flandres Club scentwork chairman, now retired)

Below is a video of a great find with my girl Leda, one of the best scent work dogs I’ve ever owned (or even known).