C.A.S.T. isn’t just a training model for Service Canines, it is also an entire philosophy relative to canine/human coexistence and responsibility. It is based on harnessing and nurturing the biological/neurological connections that coexist between our two species. My entire life’s experiences with dogs started with the process of imprinting, simply put, I was exposed to puppies and dogs at such a young age with such regularity and frequency, it isn’t hyperbole to say my first friends/siblings/packmates were canines; like a lost, stray duckling imprinted onto a molly cat, I was so on dogs. I’m far from the only person for whom the relationship with dogs, horses, cats, whatever it may have been, began in the earliest of stages of neurological development, the effects and influences are no longer questioned, it is being scientifically investigated, understood, and harnessed. This is the experience I bring to the mission, long before any classes and certifications. When I say I’m fluent in dog, it isn’t just “talk”.