In August 2005 we adopted two three-month-old (Rot/Shepherd +) puppies. Although I grew up on a farm, raised 5 mostly grown kids, owned a setter/retriever mix for 15 years, I quickly discovered I had no idea how to manage two black puppies in the city. A few weeks and a call to Pet Peeves later we started Puppy class with Bob then Advanced I. Spending their first year (plus some) in class was the best thing we could have done for them. In 2008 Nyah passed Canine Good Citizenship. Bob’s unique brew of knowledge, experience, insight, wisdom, and basic common sense for individual dogs and owners kept me coming back. I started assisting in January 2008. I enjoy watching, learning, and helping dogs and owners succeed.
Jean Hoyt is an Executive Secretary at Nazareth College for Technology and Campus Operations. She has been volunteering at Lollypop since January 1995 starting out as a dog walker. Worked with Bob Minchella with Animals Participating in Training (APT) from March 1998 through February 2000, assisting Bob in obedience classes for many years. Attended obedience classes for 6 months prior to working with Bob. She supports the Pet Peeves Helpline, foster cats and various other jobs at the shelter. She has 6 cats 2 of which are involved in Pet Assisted Therapy and 2 dogs, Myles, a yellow lab mix 11 years old that was one of my APT dogs, attended scent tracking classes with Bob and many years of obedience, Dexter, a black lab 7 years old adopted from Lollypop has 6 years of obedience and is a certified “Canine Good Citizen” (CGC). She has attended Turken Training.
Pam Peet and her husband, Dave, are owned by 2 miniature poodles – Kiki and Zeus. Kiki has been through Bob’s classes, but would be described best as Ms Congeniality. Pam has been involved in adult training since she was a teenager, and loved Bob’s style and ability with both dogs and their owners. She was hooked and has been involved in his program since. Since retiring, she has limited her time to 3 passions: 2 grandchildren in Syracuse; assisting Bob with dog training; and traditional quilting. Each provides the opportunity to improve skills and techniques, as well as meet wonderful people.
