Rebecca Cardennis is a Colorado native who has been working with animals since she was sixteen. She started as a volunteer at the Denver Dumb Friends League, then worked at shelters and posh pooch kennels in the San Francisco Bay Area after the dot com boom ended. She transitioned to Veterinary Medicine to hone her skills, first as a Vet Tech at the Berkeley Humane Society, then in Oncology, Orthopedics, Dentistry, Emergency, and Internal Medicine at various Bay Area animal hospitals. She also earned a BA from San Francisco State University in Conceptual Information Arts and worked as a Graphic Designer in the children’s software field.
In Berkeley, Rebecca was mentored by world-renowned trainers Ian Dunbar and Kelly Gorman, the creators of the puppy socialization concept known as “Puppy Kindgergarten.” She was on the initial team that created the OPEN PAW Program, which transformed shelter management of pet population socialization across the United States. Application of these positive reinforcement techniques to dogs is the foundation of Mountain Pals’ pet care philosophy: do no harm and positively reinforce all good qualities of animals, partnered with lots of exercise.
After Rebecca returned to the Denver area in 2002 to be closer to her family, she worked for almost five years as a Vet Tech at the North Boulder Companion Animal Hospital in Boulder, Colorado, one of the only area clinics that treats exotics. Caring for iguanas, guinea pigs, African Sulcata turtles, leopard geckos, and birds from every continent at their facility added to her knowledge base of many unique species.
Rebecca enjoys an active lifestyle with rock/ice climbing, cross country skiing, hiking, mountain biking, and camping, activities she loves most when accompanied by four to six canine friends. She is happiest herding a few spare hounds on grand adventures, and is gaining a reputation as The Pet Whisperer of Park County, Colorado. Her simple secret, “a tired dog is a good dog,” generally fixes a lot of behavior issues many owners face at home.
Maize, aka Mr. Amazing, is Rebecca’s big orange constant companion and inspiration for starting Mountain Pals. Since she can’t have ten dogs of her own, she borrows others to give Maize the companionship and socialization she values for all animals. Maize is getting on in years and graying in the face, but thanks to his Mountain Pals friends, he still doesn’t act his age. Maize happily teaches young puppies good manners while encouraging and respecting our older clients.
