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Meet the Dairydell Staff
Camilla Gray/Nelson, President and Director of Training
Camilla has over 50 years experience with animals (she grew up on the farm!). She has trained, bred and shown dogs since 1989 and brings this broad background and knowledge to her clients and her business. Her life-long understanding of the animal mind helped her develop what has become her signature style of natural dog training and voice control, now simply referred to as the “Dairydell Method”. Camilla and her Dairydell Method have been featured in numerous newspaper and magazine articles, as well as on San Francisco TV’s Evening Magazine and View From the Bay. Camilla loves teaching – whether it’s dogs, their owners, or the horses you see her riding in Dairydell’s beautiful arena. When she’s not training, teaching or riding, Camilla is writing about her favorite subject: dogs and their people!
Camilla holds professional memberships in both the National Association of Dog Obedience Instructors (NADOI) and the International Association of Canine Professionals (IACP).
Kurt Nelson, Operations
Kurt likes to say that without HIM, there would be no Dairydell. After all, it was Kurt that encouraged his wife, Camilla, to focus her animal skills on dogs. Camilla contends that this was just Kurt’s way of justifying having more dogs around on the property. Growing up in Minnesota, Kurt had a special affinity with dogs. He still does.
His professional career with UPS has given Kurt over 30 years in the Customer Service field. Kurt believes that if you are good to your customers, business finds you. It is this approach to business that gives Dairydell its renown “friendly” feeling. Kurt enjoys helping staff at Dairydell treat every client as a friend, and every dog as their own.
Patte Georgeson, Office and Trainer
From answering phones and responding to e-mail, to registering new clients, scheduling, check-ins, check-outs and invoicing, Patte handles it all with grace and a smile.
Patte is also on Dairydell's team of dog trainers. Several days a week, she helps Dairydell work its magic - transforming dogs from rude & rowdy to polite and obedient in our board-and-train Finishing School for Dogs. Her calm, kind demeanor makes her an effective trainer and teacher. Patte teaches our popular Up & Over agility class.
When Patte is not at Dairydell, you can probably find her on horseback - either running the barrels, penning cattle or performing on the Drill Team for her Petaluma Riding and Driving Club. We love our closet cowgirl, and she's right at home here on the farm.
Denise Robertson, Office
Another business-world transplant, Denise learned her exemplary customer service and organizational skills working in a fast-paced legal office for a team of busy attorneys. Her love of animals and her experience with them, however, goes back to her childhood. At the tender age of 7, she insisted on volunteering at a local vet's office! And growing up in rural Marin County, hers was the house all the stray dogs, cats and critters in the neighborhood would run to. Her parents finally drew the line at the wild raccoons!
Today Denise lives in Petaluma with her husband and family and - of course - a houseful of pets, from dogs and cats to lizards and toads. When she's not at Dairydell, she's probably working at one of her many creative hobbies: sewing, quilting, knitting, crocheting, or jewelry making. Denise is our wonder-woman!
Kevin Nelson, Quality Control
& Assistant Kennel Manager
Kevin is another member of the Dairydell team that lives on the property. His job as our head of Quality Control and Assistant Kennel Manager, is to visit every dog in the kennel. While he's petting, he's also doing quick physical checks to make sure our dogs are happy, their eyes are bright, ears are clean and their weight is good. With over 30 years as a Customer Service professional in his life outside Dairydell, he understands the business from the inside out and brings this knowledge to his management responsibilities in the kennel.
When Kevin is not working at Dairydell, you might find him teeing up on a nearby golf course, playing tennis, or tinkering with is collection of watches. A real renaissance man!
Lesley Zoromski, Senior Obedience Trainer
Lesley has been a professional dog trainer with Dairydell since 2004. Not only does she train the dogs enrolled in Dairydell’s Live-In Finishing School, but she also teaches our popular Basics & Beyond group class at Dairydell. Lesley jokes that her early career as a kindergarten and elementary school teacher uniquely equipped her for working with dogs and their parents. Certainly, her skill and her sense of humor are what endear Lesley to her students and her coworkers. She is a professional member of the National Association of Dog Obedience Instructors and the International Association of Canine Professionals. When she’s not training dogs, Lesley is an accomplished artist, specializing in – what else – dog portraits! You can see many of her works hanging on our walls.
Deb Hagele, Obedience Trainer
Deb's story is coming soon!
Marie Viscaino, Office
Marie's story coming soon!