Guest Bio:

It all started as a kid working border collies on a sheep farm in northern England, Sally knew from a young age that animals, and dogs in particular, would be an enduring feature of her life.Now based out of northern Virginia, Sally recently completed 20 years of service as a firefighter / paramedic and technical rescue specialist, concurrent with training and working Search and Rescue dogs for local, national and international agencies. Perfecting the incredible work of today’s handler and preparing the work of tomorrow’s handler is a priority for Sally, who specializes in teaching SAR canine programs, combining operational experience and the evidence based training.The science of animal behavior and the wellbeing of working dogs is a passion for Sally. She is a graduate of the KPA Professional Dog Trainer program, University of Tennessee Certified Canine Fitness Trainer, and the University of Washington Animal Behavior program and is now continuing her formal education as a PhD candidate in Applied Animal Behavior focusing her research on working dogs and how physical conditioning affects field ability at Virginia Tech.

Summary:

Sally shares her journey from sheep farms to search and rescue, and how her experiences led her to pursue a PhD. The episode explores the impact of stress on working dogs and how physical and emotional conditioning influence performance and welfare. Sally offers a rare dual perspective: operational and scientific.

The paper Sally discusses in this podcast has also recently been published - check it out here - Here is the link - https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/veterinary-science/articles/10.3389/fvets.2025.1546412/full

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