Introduction
Susan is an avid dog trainer, educator, and author. With over 25 years of experience in training, competing, and volunteering with her dogs, Susan has developed a passion for building the ultimate relationship with them. In 2015, when her son Kevin died of an accidental overdose, it was the relationship with her dogs that “saved” her. Since then, her purpose has become sharing her knowledge with others. You will now find her writing or speaking about complicated grief, what we can do to facilitate our own healing in grief, how she stays connected to her son today, and what she’s learned about living and grieving well from her dogs.
In 2020, Susan created the Life With Rune Facebook group, a free resource to show new puppy parents how to socialize and train their own puppies. In the group, there are over 500 instructional posts containing videos, pictures, and explanations documenting how she raised her own puppies Rune and Ripple.
In 2021 the Golden Retriever Club of America awarded Susan with the Rachel Page Elliot Featherquest Lifetime Achievement Award for sharing her knowledge to help educate others on puppy training.
Susan’s award-winning memoir is about the loss of her son to an accidental overdose and moving through grief with the loving support of her two Golden Retrievers.
Competing
Susan and her dogs compete in many American Kennel Club and Golden Retriever Club of America events. Her achievements include:
Field Events
Master Hunter (2)
Senior Hunter (3)
Junior Hunter (4)
4th place and Reserve JAM in qualifying stake (Field Trial)
UKC Hunting Retriever Champion
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Obedience
Companion Dog (4)
Companion Dog Excellent (3)
Utility Dog
Highest Scoring Dog in Trial (4)
Conformation
Best of Breed (3)
Specialty Wins (2)
Champion
Group First
Best Veteran
Golden Retriever Club of America
Working Certificate (4)
Working Certificate Excellent (4)
Versatile Certificate (3)
Versatile Certificate Excellent
Dual Dog Hall of Fame
Outstanding Sire
Volunteering
In addition to visiting nursing homes and rehabilitation hospitals, Susan and Manny were the therapy dog and handler team to give grief support for children in “Friends of Aine” through Merrimack Home Health and Hospice. They also had great success as a therapy team raising money for HHHC by participating in fundraisers connected with Fidelity.
Because some children find it easier to read to a dog rather than to an adult, Susan started a Read To A Dog program in her local library.
As past Public Education Coordinator for Yankee Golden Retriever Club (YGRC), Susan developed: How to Be Your Dog’s Best Friend and Choosing the Right Breed for You. Both of these programs were given with her dog Bailey to elementary school students where they educated the children on the differences between dog breeds and the responsibility of dog ownership.
This work earned Susan YGRC’s Sandy Sontag Award for exemplary service to the community.
Advancing Responsible Dog Ownership
Susan has held many volunteer positions at Yankee Golden Retriever Club including public education coordinator, director, vice president, and president. She also organized and chaired events and educational workshops.
In 2020, she founded Life with Rune, a Facebook Group to support puppy parents. Life with Rune is a free resource to show how to train and socialize a puppy so they grow into well-behaved dogs who are treasured family members.