As the dog behavioral trainer at Akron’s One of a Kind Pets, Ron has trained and rehabilitated dogs of all ages and aggression levels.

But for Ron, the development of his dog behavior-training program has been a deeply personal journey.

The youngest of five siblings, Ron had never been put in charge of the care of another living thing.

That all changed when he brought home his first puppy, a toy fox terrier named Petey. At the time, Ron was working as a graphic designer. He didn’t know a thing about dog training. All he knew was that Petey was an easy-going kind of guy that lived up to his reputation as “man’s best friend.”

Sadly, when Petey was just nine months old, he was attacked and killed by two large dogs. The dogs that attacked him weren’t inherently bad. But they had never been properly trained. When they broke free from the neighbor’s yard and saw Petey playing in his own back yard, their natural attack instincts overtook them.

The incident devastated Ron and changed the course of his life, and after it happened, Ron dedicate his life to dog training.

In the 8 years since Petey was killed, Ron has built a reputation for himself as the man to go to for overcoming the most difficult training hurdles. Just as no two humans are alike, Ron understands that each dog comes with his own personal story, physical characteristics and temperament.  

By giving families specific training tools that fit their lifestyles and working with them to create an environment that allows each dog to thrive, Ron’s program ensures that every dog is a success story.