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Erin has always had a passion for animals, especially large dogs. She grew up with her grandfather and his Great Danes, Jackie and Dottie, in Roanoke, Virginia. After graduating college, she moved to Johnson City, Tennessee and started her career as a college professor. In 2013, she adopted her first adulthood dog, Charlie. Although Erin knew nothing about pit bulls, Charlie quickly stole her heart and taught her a lot about dog behaviors. Not only did Charlie have many behavioral problems (separation anxiety, dog aggression, and storm anxiety), Erin began experiencing discrimination regarding the breed to the extent of people crossing the road to not walk by her people-loving, sweet, pit bull. This sparked Erin’s passion to change the stigma surrounding pit bulls and she began volunteering at the local animal shelter and co-founded the advocacy group, The Pit Crew. Over five years of volunteering, Erin raised thousands of dollars for the shelter and helped rehome over 50 “unadoptable” pit bull type dogs. This is where her training experience began. Erin fostered many pit bulls in her home to teach them basic manners, house behaviors, and how to be a dog. While at the shelter, she would teach the adoptable dogs how to properly walk on a leash, interact with other dogs, and perform basic commands such as sit, stay and down.

After the pandemic, Erin moved from Tennessee to Massachusetts for numerous reasons. Although she continued to teach in academia, Erin began working as a dog trainer and immediately fell in love with the job and every single dog who she works with. Erin jokingly says to people in her dog classes that “there isn’t much difference in my past job and this one, now I just have people bring their dogs to class!” Her understanding of animal shelters in the South is an asset to her training practice because many of the dogs in Western Mass are also transplants from the South. Understanding scared, shy, and nervous dogs is one of Erin’s most valuable training skills she brings to the Pioneer Valley. Nothing makes her happier than seeing a nervous dog come out of their shell to succeed in training classes or start enjoying new activities!

Everything Erin does is because of her late grandfather’s support and love, as well as the insurmountable lessons learned from Charlie. Although she will never lose her Southern accent, she has found her home in Western Mass as her childhood dream of being surrounded by hundreds of dogs every day came true. 

Our mission for Pawsitive Progress Academy is to educate dog owners on the proper information and tools needed to have the dog they want. Not every dog has to be "fully" trained, but the goal is for families to have a dog that will fit their lifestyle. 

Although, Pawsitive Progress Academy is dedicated to every breed, size, and pedigree; Erin has a special place in her heart for rescues. This portion of her journey has led her to develop a healthy working relationship with Better Together Dog Rescue. 

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