We are very lucky at The Dog Wizard to have a great team of honest, smart, educated, professional, and most importantly – dog loving people. Each of us have entered the dog training world in different ways, but one thing we all have in common is the love for our job . Nothing is better than working with dogs everyday.
Gretchen Hollifield Ewers - Trainer
Gretchen is been in this industry the longest on the team. She originally got into it for the simple reason of finding a career that allowed her to take her dog to work with her (not exactly the phrase every parent wants to hear after a hard earned college degree from Wake Forest), but Gretchen soon realized that it was far more than just a job that allowed her to take her dog – it would become the most rewarding, fun, mentally challenging, physically challenging, hard, but yet easiest way to earn a living that anyone could ever hope for – and she hasn’t turned back for one second (and she has even got to use that degree). Inspired to help others fulfill this dream, the Dog Wizard recently started a school for aspiring dog trainers just like herself. Teaching people to be successful is what she specializes in, and she’s not bad with dogs either. Her other specialties include separation anxiety cases, abused, and nervous dogs. She resides with her husband, Matt (who thank goodness is a dog lover too – and graciously puts up with the too many dogs coming through their house), Great Dane – Nelly, a Boxer – Clyde, and a Brussels Griffon – Pippin. She and Matt have one two-legged child in their family too, Elijah – who is fitting in just fine.
Jake Humphries - Trainer
Jake possesses a natural, but also uncanny knack to communicate with dogs and people. As any successful teacher will tell you, this gift is invaluable. He became a dog trainer after realizing that he had an ability to teach his own dogs things that other people were amazed by. Gradually, friends and family started asking him for his advice and help with their dogs, and the rest is history! And the most amazing thing in this crazy circle of life is: what he leaned after attending dog training school and years of continuing education seminars is that dog training is an art, and each dog is a layer of paint that must be dissected and sometimes refreshed – go figure – Jake was an art major at UNCC (guess that college degree wasn’t a waste after all!). This train of thought is why Jake is so successful in rehabilitating aggressive dogs – it is a matter of un-layering their train of thought to truly understand why they are behaving this way to begin with, before you can fix it. Jake’s specialty is advanced off leash obedience, retrieve work, hunting exercises that can be used in suburban living, and of course, rehabilitating aggression cases. He shares his home with Gunner, a black lab mix that he rescued and rehabilitated. And Sara Beth, a black lab, who he raised from puphood and is a great example of the of raising a puppy correctly.
Sam Dooley - Trainer
Sam is one of our trainers who grew up in the small town of Bridgeport, West Virginia. He has been dedicated to helping animals, dogs specifically from an early age. During high school he molded his course schedule to help pursue a career as a veterinarian. During his college days at West Virginia University as a part of the Pre-Vet program, he was able to participate in multiple surgeries with the guidance of his professors who owned their own clinics. Sam also has years of experience working as a veterinary assistant performing a large variety of procedures and tests in vet hospitals. It wasn’t until the beginning of his junior year of college that he was exposed to formal dog training. WVU offered a Service Dog Training class that he enrolled in as a foster home for one of the dogs; he immediately fell in love with the program. After receiving great reviews of his training technique and motivation to help the dogs succeed, the head trainer of the program asked him to continue fostering and training his dog for an additional year until the dog had completed its training. The dog that Sam trained is now placed in West Virginia with a client working as a mobility assistance dog. Despite his dedication to the program, Sam denied an offer to teach the class and become head trainer to pursue his own career as a dog trainer. After graduation from WVU with a BSA in Animal and Nutritional Sciences, he attended National K-9 School for Dog Trainers in Columbus, Ohio, where he learned the training methods for all kinds of working class dogs including Police K9, Scent Detection and Tracking, Search and Rescue, and more. Additionally the school provided him with a great knowledge of how dogs learn and the reasons for many behavioral problems that can develop in dogs. After completing the course at National K-9, Sam was lucky enough to find The Dog Wizard through the NK9 graduate directory here in Charlotte. The rest is history as Sam is now a part of our great team!
Brandon Trammell - Trainer
Brandon is also a Charlotte native who recently returned about five years ago. Like most of us at The Dog Wizard, Brandon has surrounded himself with animals his whole life – and feels he felt most “himself” when he was with dogs specifically. Brandon poses a natural instinct with dogs – they tend to gravitate toward his energy – he started noticing this when friends were constantly asking for his help with their problem dogs. When the opportunity presented itself to become a part of The Dog Wizard team, he thought it seemed like a great chance to have some “formal” training and take his natural instinct to a new level. Brandon says he feels extremely lucky to get to see dogs with such ranges of issues be transformed with the right kind of training and techniques. He has a mixed breed dog named Pandora, and he feels getting to bring her to work with him everyday is a dream come true! In his spare time, Brandon really enjoys traveling as much as possible and trying new things and foods. He feels there is nothing like going somewhere new and getting lost in new experiences. He is also am passionate about cooking at home. He loves to try new recipes and put his own spin on cuisine from around the world.
Guillaume Goulin - Trainer
We brought in Guillaume (pronounced Gi Ome) all the way from France! Not really. He was born in France, and lived there until the age of 4 when his family moved to Los Angeles. He was born in a household with three dogs and has had a dog in his life his everyday since. He feels he has always had a passion for dogs. At the age of 13 he started a dog walking business and made it a success in his neighborhood. At 16, he started volunteering at local shelters and rescue groups in and around Los Angeles. This was an eye opening experience for his, because this is when he realized how many dogs need help. But after high school, he studied business and got offered a great job in a restaurant where he moved up to GM, only he was never really happy. He was the happiest when he got home to see his dogs and longed for the days of volunteering at the shelters. So he decided to do what he loved and sought out a school where he could learn all about dogs and behavioral dog training. This drew him across the country to National K9 School for Dog Trainers in Columbus, Ohio. And the rest is history…he has been training dogs ever since! Guillaume has experience with obedience, retrieval, police k9, scent detection, tracking, search and rescue, and service dogs. He shares his house with a Cali a rescue German Shepherd that he rehabilitated from a scared unsocial dog into a happy confident member of the dog world.
Steve Mills - Play Time Supervisor
Steve says he has always had a love for animals throughout his life. Steve was constantly getting asked to pet sit for friends and colleges while they are out of town. So he decided to seek out a job at dog a facility. Steve enjoys getting to work with the numerous breeds of dogs through The Dog Wizard. The exposure to the different breeds and personalities has given him a greater understanding of each of the dog’s needs on a daily basis. Steve also has had a love for photography for over 20 years. He now has a extensive collection of dog photographs. Believe it or not, Steve has twin teenage daughters that are in their last year of high school and are looking forward to college. In his down time, Steve also enjoys mountain biking, hiking, and road biking.
Ben Humphries - Play Time Supervisor
Ben is another Charlotte native who loves living in this eclectic city. He comes from a large family and the little brother of trainer, Jake, so we know he is destined for greatness in the dog worId! Ben has a very laid back calm personality that suits the dogs well. I enjoy skateboarding and reading in my spare time. I have been known to spend much of my day writing as well. My current pet is a sweet, docile pit bull named Eddy. Eddy is a beautiful dog and picturesque for his breed. I have always felt I have a natural touch when it comes to animals, which is why I thought working at The Dog Wizard would be the right fit for me.
Lorrayne Hurley - Office Manager
If you have called our office, then you have had the pleasure of speaking with our office manager, aka the “English Lady”, (she is actually Irish, but grew up in England). Lorrayne is a member of our team that we could NOT live without. We are very lucky to have her because she is such a team player – she is what we call the oil that makes our engine run. She takes more pride in her work than anyone you will meet. Her background is the music business, but she has always had a passion for animals. Everywhere she has lived, she has been involved and volunteered at rescue groups. We actually met Lorrayne when she contacted us about training a rescue dog, Charlie, that had been almost beaten to death and he lost one eye in the process. We trained him, then Lorrayne adopted him … and the rest is history. Charlie is now the happiest dog you will meet!! She lives with her husband Ernie and daughter Molly (who is the smartest 7 year old you will ever meet), GiGi – a Gorden Setter, three cats: Uno,Kali, and Lola, and of course Mr. Charlie – the luckiest dog in the world!
Emily Nolan - Facility Manager
Emily landed in Charlotte to attend Johnson and Wales Culinary School and graduated with a degree in Food Service Management. Due to a slow food industry economy, we were lucky to get her management background and apply it to our facility. She is a life long dog lover and feels this is the next best thing to her career in the food world. She feels being with animals everyday has a certain level of gratification that cannot be found in many jobs. She also has a Chihuahua mix named Casper who was horrible to everyone except me before our trainers got a hold of him. He was a terror around strangers and other dogs, but now Casper is a model citizen. Emily says she enjoys working at The Dog Wizard, which has taught her so many things about animals and how to relate to them.
Warren Boyce - Maintenance
Warren is our “maintenance and cleaner extraordinaire”! He keeps our place in tip-top shape! When he is not cleaning and organizing our facility, he enjoys playing football, basketball, and he is an exceptional fisherman. He has lived in Charlotte his whole life, and I loves it here. Warren says he has always loved dogs, especially his pit bull named Diamond. He feels that if you keep a calm head around animals, they will be calm around you.
Leah Hyde - Office Assistant
Leah works part time in the office, and she helps keep our office organized and pretty. Leah is in nursing school, working toward becoming an RN (she prefers to help the human kind). She has always had pets for as long as she can remember and loves dogs. She considered being a vet at one point before humans won out. She has a small Chihuahua mix named Kismet who is her constant companion. It is her opinion that “life without animals is a boring life indeed”. Leah’s other interest include: dance, music, cooking, and crafts.
Barbara
Barbara is our lobby greeter. So, if you come in and you think you hear someone talking (only no one is standing there), it is probably Barbara. She has a vocabulary of over 200 words and more sounds – and she will talk your ear off if you let her.
