Pet Professional Guild announces Cat Committee appointments

WESLEY CHAPEL, Fla. - Dec. 17, 2016 - PRLog -- The Pet Professional Guild (PPG) has announced the appointments of a new chairwoman and a new member to its Cat Committee. With immediate effect, Paula Garber, owner of Lifeline Cat Behavior Solutions in Westchester, New York, takes over as chairwoman, while veterinarian Dr. Lynn Bahr, CEO of Dezi & Roo Pet Solutions Specialists in Marietta, Georgia, joins the eight-person committee. Existing committee member Francine Miller of Call Ms. Behaving in Carlsbad, California continues in the role of vice chairwoman.

Incoming chairwoman Paula Garber holds a master's in education from the University of Colorado at Boulder and is a certified animal training and enrichment professional and certified feline training and behavior specialist through the Animal Behavior Institute. She is also certified in low stress handling through Dr. Sophia Yin's course, Low Stress Handling of Dogs and Cats, and is pursuing a diploma in feline behavior science and technology from the Companion Animal Sciences Institute. She currently serves as an advisor to the board of FurBridge, a non-profit animal rescue and community outreach program in Ardsley, New York. A consummate cat advocate, Garber hosts an annual event for volunteers to build winter shelters for free-roaming cats in her community.

New committee member Dr. Lynn Bahr is a graduate of the University of Georgia, College of Veterinary Medicine whose areas of interest and special care for felines include health and wellness, lifetime enrichment, hospice care, strengthening the animal-human bond, ending the practice of declawing, and the ability to 'speak cat.' She also serves on the board of directors at Pandemonium Aviaries.

"PPG's No Pain, No Force, No Fear tagline applies equally to cats as it does to dogs," said Garber, who takes over from outgoing chairwoman, Jane Ehrlich. "Expanding PPG's feline resources to help anyone who works with cats to learn new techniques and skills that improve cat welfare and strengthen the human-cat bond is one of my primary goals as chairwoman of PPG's Cat Committee."

Bahr, meanwhile, said that joining PPG's Cat Committee was an obvious choice. "As a feline only veterinarian my life has been devoted to cats and the people who love them," she said. "Along with the highly intelligent group of dedicated and committed feline experts who currently sit on the committee, I hope to impact many more lives than I am able to do in the exam room. Strengthening the human-animal bond through education is one of the programs I look forward to helping with, as well as efforts to expand our feline membership. It takes a village to promote responsible pet ownership and I am honored to be a part of this initiative."

PPG continues to gain momentum as the go-to organization for highly skilled, knowledgeable and educated force-free pet professionals who understand the science of behavior and how it applies to animal behavior and training. Membership is rising worldwide, educational programs continue to be rolled out, and the organization is about to announce its third annual summit, following on from the resounding success of the two previous events.

About The Pet Professional Guild

The Pet Professional Guild is a 501(c)6 member organization founded on the principles of force-free training and pet care. Its membership represents pet industry professionals who are committed to force-free training, pet care philosophies, practices and methods. Pet Professional Guild members understand force-free to mean: no shock, no pain, no choke, no fear, no physical force and that no compulsion-based methods are employed to train or care for a pet.