ABOUT US
JULIA MAIDEN
DIRECTOR
Dogs and their training have always played a major part in Julia's life, and her whole family have shared in her passion fully. Julia has always had a soft spot for those dogs that our society shuns, and even with three ex-SPCA dogs currently sharing her home, she is still able to keep a close eye on the dogs needing new homes by working tirelessly with the Wellington SPCA.
Whenever Julia takes on a task she does so wholeheartedly, this is not only reflected in the life membership awarded her from a Wellington dog training club (after 20+ years of being the first voice anyone enquiring about training heard it is no wonder that many people still remember their first conversation with Julia about dog training) - but can also be seen in her dedication to the Wellington SPCA. Julia now also works on the Wellington SPCA's Executive Committee and helps devise training programmes for not only the shelter animals but also for the staff and volunteers who will work with the animals. This has allowed her to introducing clicker training (a positive reinforcement training method). In taking this further Julia endeavours to work on various schemes to encourage new owners to continue with the training even after adoption. And if that isn't enough to ensure that the SPCA continues to succeed Julia has been the at the forefront of fund-raising, achieved to raising over $30,000 by inspiring and organising people from local dog-training clubs, volunteers and even Paws clients to meet and greet the public with the SPCA Dog Squads.
Not only does Julia teach our puppy classes but her flair for working with people is highly regarded in performing home visits for owners needing more personal dog-training advice and coaching. And you will often see Julia helping out in both the Doggy Daycare and Grooming areas of the business, or even being one of the friendly voices taking your calls.
Julia's passion for dogs and their welfare continues to drive her forward into the public eye, behind that she has a history of canine achievements that any dog loving person would be proud of. Julia's dog training talents have led her to not only training for a variety of television shows and adverts but to also do demonstrations on live television, including showing how even blind or deaf dogs can still be trained successfully using the positive methods.
Julia is an absolutely valued member of the Paws in the City team, and we are proud that she has chosen this business to share her passion and talents with.
KAREN McCARTHY MCFBA
DIRECTOR
Karen has been around dogs from a young age and always dreamed of letting her passion become her life’s work. Breed showing may have been where Karen started but this soon developed into a passion for training and teaching which then led to taking on a professional mobile dog grooming business. Using her professional business experience meant that the service was able to grow by adding a grooming salon, which then included using her training experience to take the puppy and adult training classes and private consultations to the professional level too. Having travelled to learn more about training and attend seminars and workshops in other countries gave Karen the opportunity to work internationally; this allowed the business to grow the next level by bringing in partners with the same passion, adding daycare and having our own premises.
Teaching specialised classes incorporating clicker training (puppy, obedience, life-skills, agility) and then moving onto training dog’s for the client at a residential training school has given Karen an even wider knowledge of training methods and practices which she has brought into the fold at Paws.
Karen has gained many certificates in dog behaviour and training from study and experience in New Zealand and the rest of the world. Her experience led her to being invited and becoming a full member of the Canine & Feline Behaviour Association, she is the only person in NZ with this certification and is now completing a university degree in dog training and behaviour.
As seems to be the trend of the Paws Directors, Karen has also been profiled in the national media of newspapers, television and radio in relation to dogs and training, including appearing on NZ’s Tux Wonderdogs and being interviewed by the UK BBC. Karen and her dog Connor (Gordon Setter) represented New Zealand twice at UK’s Crufts Dog Show both in 2007 & 2008 and also in two disciplines for both years - International Heelwork to Music and Agility competitions - a first for NZ! Connor who was 10 ½ at the time of the second year, did us proud in gaining 8th out of 19 countries in the 1st round of the agility. Connor was also the very first dog in New Zealand to gain any kind of Canine Good Citizen certificate with the NZ Kennel Club, and the first Gordon Setter in NZ to attain Championship status (breed showing) with CDX (Companion Dog Excellent) and ADX (Agility Dog Excellent) titles.
With 30 years experience in dog training and grooming, Karen is an integral part of the Paws team - you will see her working in every aspect of the business. Her personal dedication and innovative style for everything she does led Karen to be awarded life membership to a local dog training club and the caring method that Karen uses in her grooming has also meant her becoming an internationally published author (Grooming Book).
This enthusiasm and fearless determination to enhance at least the dog's world is what keeps Karen motivated to take the human/canine relationship into the 21st century. Even though Karen has competed in dog competition including breed showing, obedience, agility and heelwork to music she still keeps the role of the pet dog firmly in mind and it is this that focuses her to help create the best canine caring centre in Wellington.
CAROL MEILINK
DIRECTOR
Carol has been involved with dogs, their showing and training all of her life. A valued member of two Wellington based dog training clubs Carol has always assisted in these clubs with teaching classes as well as being involved at committee level.
Even though dogs have always been a huge part of Carol's life her main career for many years was professional photography and this is still reflected in her passion for taking pictures at every opportunity.
Carol has successfully represented her area in agility at a national level, a feat that was highly contested and deservedly won. Her passion for dogs has seen her compete in breed showing, obedience and agility.
Carol and her family currently live with 2 dogs, Sasha and Vada, and until recently, Oscar. You will often find them accompanying Carol on her mobile grooming rounds. Carol is an accomplished groomer and had been with the business for many years before becoming an important and vital team member of Paws.
Her passion for training and the dogs has led her to become a highly skilled clicker teacher, a method which she makes the most out of - even training her Lorikeet - who also does a brilliant recall. Carol and Oscar have also been in the media with Oscar showing his skills and handsomeness for advertising.
OUR VALUED TEAM
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ALISON You will see Alison at our new Newtown branch playing with and walking the Doggy Daycare dogs. She holds the National Certificate of Animal Care and loves our dog visitors as if they were her own. Alison previously volunteered at the Wellington SPCA, and fostered dogs for them. She ended up falling in love with one and adopted Chance, the German Shepherd X. |
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CHERYL |
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DESRAE Desrae grooms both at the salon and in our Groom Mobile. Desrae and her family have three Siberian Huskys and she is an avid and successful breed show competitor travelling around the country in order to compete. |
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ELLA Ella also grooms for us and you will find her at the salon towards the end of each week and often on a Saturday. She shares us with caring for her young son Cody who loves to come in to see and meet all the dogs. |
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GRAEME Graeme looks after our Doggy Daycare guests providing them with walks, treats and entertainment. You may see Graeme taking the dogs for a walk, playing with them or even reading them a story. All the dogs love Graeme and he often creates excitement whenever he walks back into each of the daycare areas. Graeme used to volunteer at the SPCA so has plenty of experience with all types of animals. |
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JESSICA |
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JOHN John meets and greets visitors at our Newtown facility in the morning. He is a member of the DAWG Agility Club, and an avid American Cocker Spaniel fan having trained them for agility which he has been quite successful at. Zak is a red American Cocker, Tasha is a black American Cocker, and Rico is a black and white parti-colour American Cocker. One of his dogs even has their picture on the NZ Kennel Club banner! Watch some of John’s agility videos here. John recently earned ADX (Agility Dog Excellence) with his American Cocker Spaniel Rico. |
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NAOMI Naomi works part time as our webstie designer. For the past few years that she has been with us she has graduated with a university degree. She has a 3 year old chihuahua cross called Dax that many of our customers know and love. |
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SAM Sam has recently joined our team at our new premises in Newtown. He previously worked at the Wellington SPCA where he was a dog carer, working with both the large dogs and small puppies. Sam also helped run the off-site adoptions in the weekends. Along with working part-time at Paws, Sam is studying full-time to gain the Certificate of Applied Complimentary Animal Health. As part of this course he is learning natural and herbal remedies for stress for dogs, as well as remedies for behavioural issues and dog massage. |
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SARAH Sarah is one of our esteemed groomers who works mainly at the salon. She is one of the friendly groomers you will meet most often at the salon, and occasionally helps out in Doggy Daycare. Sarah has completed the National Certificate in Animal Care, and attended the Groom Along in August, 2009. Like all our groomers, she spends time discussing with clients a reasonable outcome that is good for both owner and dog. Sarah is an experienced groomer, but continues to perfect her grooming skills and learn different grooming techniques. She has three cats, one rabbit, and five fish. |
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TASH
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