Staff

Animal Humane is dedicated to delivering the most up-to-date methods in dog training. Our skilled team will give you the knowledge you need to understand how to effectively teach your dog. Using reward-based training, you will learn how to teach your dogs the behaviors you want them to exhibit and how to discourage undesired habits. Our classes range from basic to competitive obedience, from foundations in agility to master level agility drills. We also offer rally classes, clicker training & much, much more.

Behavior Trainers

Brittani Archuleta

Brittani has been training dogs for 6 years and is excited to bring her knowledge of positive reinforcement training to her role as a Behavior Specialist at The Center. Previously, Brittani has worked as a trainer with Kloud K-9 Dog Training in Las Cruces and Pet Paradise Resort. Brittani cares deeply about her clients and demonstrates this by doing her best to support pet parents and their dogs’ behavioral needs. Brittani values her education and strives to continue learning more about animal behavior to become an even better instructor.

Mariah Medina

Mariah Medina has been committed to enhancing the lives of dogs through training and enrichment for nearly 10 years. While on the path to becoming a language teacher, she found her true passion after spending a summer volunteering at Albuquerque Animal Welfare. Her dog training journey fully began after she met her canine soulmate, Dale, a Pit Bull mix. She worked with local trainers and behavioralists to develop a community education program for Pit Bulls and bully breeds.

Since then, she has worked for several years in the pet care industry. As a devoted student of Karen Pryor, Mariah subscribes to the principles of humane and science-based methods. She takes a compassionate approach and uses positive reinforcement to create an environment that fosters a strong bond between pet parents and their companions. She’s excited to share her love for canine behavior and training as a member of The Center’s Behavior Team!

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Agility Trainers

Linda-Johns

Linda Johns

Linda has been involved with agility/dog training for the past 17 years. This all began with the adoption of a rambunctious Australian Shepherd, Halle that needed a job. Agility filled that need for Halle and she went on to earn AKC’s Master Agility Championship title. As a student of Kim Terrill’s for many years, Linda also became an agility instructor at Enchantment Pet Resort (ERP) as well as the in-house dog trainer.

While at EPR, Linda also developed a core strengthening class for dogs. This program develops a dog’s core muscles and teaches pets & owners how to stretch to avoid injuries. As a retired Albuquerque Public School teacher, Linda enjoys teaching and sharing her knowledge about dogs with her students. In addition to Halle’s titles, Linda’s accomplishments in agility include Ticket, a Border Collie, who earned an Agility Dog Championship title and who Joss recently placed 1st at a regional event.

Susan Neal, KPA CTP

Susan was a therapist, trainer and adoption coordinator for PB&J’s Prison Dog Program, Heeling Hearts, for nine years. Ending in January 2016, the program focused on teaching women, incarcerated in Grants, New Mexico, to train basic obedience to shelter dogs. During her tenure, 500+ dogs were trained and adopted into the community. Susan’s interest in positive dog training led her to the Karen Pryor Academy for Animal Training and to become a certified graduate (KPA CTP). She altered the training methods used in the prison from “corrective” to “reward” based.

Susan discovered agility in 2008 with Leo, her Grand Champion Portuguese Water Dog. Leo earned his MACH title (Master Agility Champion) in 2015. His daughter Sensay earned her MACH the following year. Currently Susan is training a Miniature Poodle puppy, Reno, to become her next agility “star.”

Susan has been teaching Agility Foundation classes for five years, three of which have been at Animal Humane. She is excited about the expansion of our agility program with its beautiful grass fields, excellent instructors, and state of the art equipment. Even if competition is not a goal, Susan hopes that more people will discover the fun and greater bond they can develop with their canine companion with agility training.

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Kim-Terrill

Kim Terrill

Kim has been involved in dog training since 1993.  Most recently, she was the Training Director at Enchantment Pet Resort in Rio Rancho, New Mexico for 13 years. Her success in agility and obedience has included winning over 30 High in Trial and High Combined awards at competitions and winning at both the AKC Agility Nationals and the USDAA Nationals. Kim competed in the Purina Incredible Dog Challenge with three of her dogs, winning the large agility for several years and also the 30 weave and back winner with her dogs. Kim and her dog Steeple won the National Agility Championship and then in 2015 won the Preferred National Agility Championship, being the first ever to win both in AKC history!  She is also the first person to put a Triple Championship (Breed, Obedience & Agility) on a Border Collie named Frisco!

Kim is most proud of how her students excel in Agility and Obedience – as many have qualified to attend Nationals and Invitationals. Kim routinely makes it to the podium with all her dogs in both AKC, USDAA and Incredible Dog Challenge Regionals and Nationals.

Kim has known and loved Animal Humane New Mexico since she was a child. She grew up across the street from our founders, Col. Edmund and Thelma Evans. Frequently, Thelma would bring Kim to our shelter to care for our dogs – and her passion for canines remains strong to this day. Kim still resides in the house across the street from the Evans.

Her addition to our team brings her friendship with them full circle!

Ellen Rowe

Ellen got her first Australian Cattle Dog in 2002 and quickly discovered that this breed needed a job or, more often, jobs. Thus began her interest in training dogs. She started with Basic Obedience, moving to competitive Obedience, rally, drafting, carting and, finally, moved to Agility, with some additional work in herding and Barn Hunt.  Agility is her main focus with an emphasis on training handlers and dogs to build successful relationships that allow them to truly work as teams.

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Cindi Bair

Cindi has been involved in various types of dog training for over 15 years. Agility is where she first learned and fell in love with Positive Reinforcement (PR) training. PR training matched her own philosophy, especially when working with at-risk students and students with disabilities. Cindi has extensive experience in participating in sports, coaching, and dance. These skills cross over to the field, helping her teach clients the sport of agility.  As a military wife, Cindi has had the opportunity to work under a variety of amazing mentors assisting in teaching agility, reactivity, and obedience classes. She also taught and fostered for Canines With a Cause (Utah) evaluating and fostering dogs to prepare to become companion and service dogs for veterans. Cindi is happiest on the agility field, teaching new students and their dogs. She is energized by the joy she sees when a team accomplishes things, they never thought possible.

Coleen Andrews

Coleen began her agility quest in 2011 with her first Miniature American Shepherd Ozzi and quickly became addicted. She loves the fact that a person can compete in a team sport with their best friend.  Throughout the years she has trained with many of  New Mexico’s instructors but has found her home to here at The Center.
Ozzi has now since retired but during his career he earned multiple Master Agility Championships in both AKC and USDAA. He has also stood on several podiums at top regional events and attended numerous National Agility Championships making it into the final round in 2018.
Coleen continues her passion for competition with her second Miniature American Shepherd Jezebel with more focus on international-style courses.  She also has a Border Collie puppy in training.
Coleen finds agility to be a very complex sport requiring a unique bond between handler and dog. She strives to instruct each team to maximize their potential but most importantly she wants them to find the pure joy of this amazing game.

Meet The Center's Operations Director

Michael Petraccca

Michael Petracca, or Mike as he prefers to be called, is a dog enthusiast and comic book nerd married to his high school sweetheart, Jess; Their family consists of two rambunctious boys, Noah and Malcolm, and three amazing canine companions:  Winger, a Golden Retriever; Suki, a Husky, and Ace, a Dutch Shepherd adopted from Animal Humane! When they aren’t causing chaos at home, you can find the Petraxccas out in the mountains camping, hiking, or playing in the mud!

For the last three years, Mike has been working as a veterinary technician, first at VCA, where he quickly progressed from a technician to a trainer and department lead for the General Practice department. Joining Animal Humane’s Clinic in April 2023, Mike continued to work as a Dear Free certified technician trainer, furthering his interest in Dog Behavior. Prior to joining the field, Mike spent 10 years as a corporate supervisor for UPS, responsible for training in both safety and operational procedures for around 100 local employees. He also spent some time traveling the country training UPS employees, improving operational efficiencies, and implementing new technologies.

Mike looks forward to meeting all of The Center’s clients, both human and canine, and providing super-human levels of care to your beloved pets.

CONTACT US

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