Maria walking on the Church St Marketplace with her dog, Noodle, on a loose leash. Noodle is looking up at her.

Maria & Noodle on Church St Marketplace in Burlington, VT ~ 📸 Gone to the Dogs Photography

Two dogs sitting on a beach with a body of water and mountains in the background. One dog is black and brown with a red collar, and the other is tan and white with a blue harness.

Noodle & Mandy

A cute black, white, and tan Australian Shepherd puppy standing in a pile of autumn leaves.

Cacio

Close-up of a tan dog with a red bandana, outdoors on a grassy field, looking directly at the camera.

Argie

Two dogs standing in a grassy area in a wooded park with trees in the background. Both dogs are smiling with their tongues out.

Gideon & Bentley

A smiling woman with dark hair tied back, dressed in a brown jacket and blue striped shirt, kneels next to a happy golden retriever in a harness, sitting on a city sidewalk with stores and cars in the background.

Maria & Jared

About Maria (she/her)

A lifelong lover of animals, Maria grew up with a menagerie of dogs, cats, hamsters, and goldfish in downtown Atlanta and learned from a very early age what a delight it was to experience animals using their minds to get things that they wanted. Through various twists and turns she discovered her true love in life: training dogs and their humans.

Maria is the owner and head trainer at Fetch the Leash. She is an honors graduate of the prestigious Academy for Dog Trainers and holds a Certificate in Training and Counseling (CTC), as well as a PCBC-A from the Pet Professional Guild, an organization which represents pet industry professionals who are committed to results based, science based force-free training and pet care; and a CSAT (Certificate in Separation Anxiety Training) from Malena DeMartini, the industry leader in separation anxiety training.

Maria’s experience includes working with a wide range of shelter animals at various shelters in Northern California since 2007 (the East Bay SPCA, Tony LaRussa’s Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF), Berkeley Humane, and Contra Costa Animal Services-Martinez). From 2010-13 she also taught classes for puppy raisers of puppies in training to become assistance animals for Canine Companions for Independence. Her specialties include raising behaviorally healthy puppies, helping adopted puppies and dogs transition well into their new homes; working with special challenges such as resource guarding or separation anxiety; and task-based service dog training. Maria also has a Ph.D. in human education from Emory University, and an undergraduate degree in music from Yale University. Maria enjoys helping people and dogs meet each other’s expectations through training!

Maria’s heart belongs to many dogs: Noodle, a scruffy little guy with a long tongue; Mandy, the girl next door; Cacio, her pride and joy; and dogs who have crossed the rainbow bridge: Gideon & Bentley, a bonded pair of seniors who lived out the rest of their best life; a chow-chow/lab mix named Argie who was very shy and very sweet; and Jared, a yellow lab with a heart of gold to match his fur.