Sylvia Currie (she/her/hers) is a certified dog behaviour consultant specialising in aggression and anxiety. She serves the Thompson-Nicola region of British Columbia through her business, Being With Dogs. She is a founding board member of the Kamloops Cactus K9 Club which is active in organizing local recreational, competitive and educational events, and promoting positive training in the community. 

Sylvia’s academic and professional background is in learning and community design, and she continues to do contract work in the post-secondary, government, and non-profit sectors, developing and facilitating learning online and supporting others to do the same. 

She is the Education Director for IAABC Foundation, working with multi-species behaviour and training subject matter experts to develop online programs. 

Sylvia holds a BEd, MA (Applied Sciences) and is a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant through IAABC, Accredited Trainer by Kay Laurence (TAKL), Certified Behavior Adjustment Training Instructor, Knowledge & Skills assessed (CBATI-KSA), Separation Anxiety Pro Behaviour Consultant (CSAP-BC), and a Tellington TTouch Practitioner.

Valerie is a multi-certified professional dog trainer, behaviour consultant and owner of Dog Partners dog training in North Vancouver and Fernie, BC.  She has been working with people and their dogs for 30 years. 

She holds the following professional certifications:

• Karen Pryor Certified Training Partner
• Certified Family Dog Mediator
• Fear Free Certified Trainer, Elite Status
• Predation Substitute Training, Certified Instructor
• BC SPCA AnimalKind Accreditation
  

Valerie is committed to helping her clients find behaviour solutions that work using current, force-free training methods that are effective and fun. She specializes in puppies and adolescent dogs, as well as all levels of behaviour modification from mild to severe. 

Valerie is passionate about learning and finding new opportunities for furthering her education and knowledge. She believes there is always more to learn, and knowledge should be ever evolving.

Valerie writes training articles for the Fernie Fix Magazine and was the Dog Training contributor for Pet Connection Magazine from 2010 to 2022. She is a Professional Member of the Pet Professional Guild, a Professional Member of the Association of Professional Dog Trainers, a supporting Member of the IAABC and is Vice President (and past Secretary) of PACTA BC (Professional Animal Care and Training Association of BC).  

Valerie is regularly consulted and referred to by the media, industry professionals, veterinarians and a broad network of clients. 

Margaret Good (she/her/hers) is a retired CPA who has consulted in a variety of businesses, here, abroad, large, small, public and private. Her primary focus was financial and operational efficiency and effectiveness. She has a BComm from UBC.

She splits her time between North Vancouver and a rural property outside of Merritt.

Upon her retirement in 2015, Margaret and her husband became the guardian of a Barbet puppy named Rebus. He was highly anxious, fearful and reactive. They were extremely fortunate to find the right professionals to help them, which was ultimately her introduction to PACTA BC. Rebus had many happy years, living a great life before passing away suddenly in 2024. Their journey with Rebus made them ardent believers in reward based, force free training. They are now awaiting their next puppy, a Lagotto.

In her spare time, Margaret plays with wood as a woodworker and turner. She is a volunteer supervisor for a senior women’s woodworking class and coaches a women’s hockey team. She is an avid fly fisher.

Christine Heal (she/they) has been involved in pet rescue for over 25 years. She founded Faunadael Pet Rescue, fostering and adopting out cats, dogs, small pets, poultry, and livestock, as well as fostering for other rescue groups and shelters.

Christine grew up on a Fraser Valley hobby farm where her parents supported—and tolerated!—her obsession with animals from insects to equines.  She first attended university to become a veterinarian before switching to a different field, but still loves learning about animal behaviour. She has trained and/or trialed her dogs in competitive obedience, agility, Rally-O, herding, tricks and tracking, and horses, ponies, a donkey and a mule in various riding and driving disciplines. Her beloved pot-bellied pig Frankenswine lived for ten years as a part-time house pig, and taught her how clever pigs are!

Christine copy edits geological reports and the odd novel, and is a seasonal hay farmer. In the past she worked as an office manager, taught numerous children's programs, and was lucky to be employed in the pet industry for over twelve years. She would like PACTA BC to have a stronger emphasis on youth support and education.

Before her daughter graduated to university, she was very involved with the school and district parent advisory councils, serving as secretary for both.

She was excited when the organisation expanded to province-wide, to include people from the rest of BC who share our values and mission to make our province a kinder place for companion animals.

Christine, her spouse, and a community (feral) cat live on Vancouver Island, and share their lives with a deaf goat, a wobbly goat, and a few large dogs...all who get excited for their clicker training and Agility sessions.

Candice (she/her/hers) is a Registered Canine Hydrotherapist and Certified Small Animal Massage practitioner and lives on Vancouver Island with her senior GSP Birdie.

Her interest in hydrotherapy began with bringing her own dog, Bubba, a 14-year-old German Short-haired Pointer, to swim. When he began having difficulties supporting his hind end, his veterinarian suggested swimming to build muscle mass in a non-weight bearing environment. He improved immensely and in the last year of his life, he was able to continue and enjoy the outings he so loved.

When an opportunity arose to train with the prestigious Greyfriars Hydrotherapy and Referral Centre, she jumped at it! In 2015, she completed their certification course, and became a Registered Canine Hydrotherapist (RCH). In April of 2016, continuing studies provided her with a Diploma Hydrotherapy for Small Animals (Dip.HSA).

Candice strongly believes in advocating for senior dogs through home modifications and providing enrichment.

Candice joined VIATA, now PACTA BC, in 2011.

Pat (she/her/hers) is a retired vet tech and retired teacher of vet techs in Kamloops. While teaching she studied and wrote the CCPDT exam – the first third party administered certification exam in Canada and the only one at the time. She introduced behaviour and training of dogs, cats, birds and horses as well as low stress handling to the curriculum of the vet tech program.

After retiring from teaching Pat submitted proposals to local vet clinics and successfully introduced baby puppy classes to Kamloops where they continue to flourish. She also offered private consults with clients and taught classes for other trainers.

Pat rides and trains horses too, especially her own homebred mare who she continues to ride in dressage, mountain trail and working equitation. She trained her mare from foal to senior citizen with R+ and practices cooperative care with her.

Pat is also a hard core gardener with 1/3 acre to play in.

Cait Wall (she/her/hers) is a dog mom, nurse, and runner who lives in Vancouver BC. She is the proud guardian of Milo (12-year-old labradoodle) and Auggie (2 year old mixed breed).

When she adopted Auggie in March of 2021, she realized he had severe global anxiety and fear and that she had very limited knowledge in how to help him. With the help of amazing trainers, education courses, and a growing R + community, she has become very passionate about consent-based training and helping empower dogs to live their best lives.

She loves to discuss anything behaviour, learning theory, and enrichment, and frequently compares her friends' interpersonal struggles to Auggie's journey to confidence.

Outside of dogs, she loves to run, read, sing, hike, and camp. Cait would love to be involved in spreading the joy and beauty of R + training and help other dog parents navigate the dog training industry.