Julie Beller
ABC Lead Program Manager

Julie has been involved in dog training for approximately 15 years and has been a dog lover for as long as she can remember. She started out in a dog obedience class herself with her solid black German Shepherd Dog, Casey. She thoroughly enjoyed the interaction with all the other dogs and their parents. She loved it so much, she decided to pursue a career as a professional dog trainer. Julie began reading every dog book she could get her hands on and continued to attend group classes for over a year after her beloved Casey graduated. (ABC was not born yet!) She then apprenticed under several other local professional dog trainers for another 18 months before seeking employment with Animal Behavior and Training Associates, Inc., (ABTA), which was at the time, the largest dog training company in the United States and Canada.

In 1995, Ms. Beller was hired to teach group classes for ABTA at several Petco locations in her area. In 1997, she began teaching private lessons as well. Julie strongly believes in positive motivation training techniques. She concentrates on finding out what motivates each individual dog and then uses that as her primary training tool during the teaching process. This way it is a win-win situation for both dog and dog owner.

In 1999, Ms. Beller began working for the corporate office of Animal Behavior and Training Associates, Inc. (ABTA), in the Human Resources Department and Certification Department. She was responsible for interviewing, testing, and certifying professional trainers who were applying for employment with ABTA in both the United States and Canada.

In 2003, Ms. Beller's talents were observed by the Vice President of Animal Behavior College Inc., (ABC), and she was recruited as part of the ABC team. Julie views her involvement with ABC as a way to share her knowledge, to help improve the quality of professional dog trainers available to the public and ultimately to improve the quality of life for as many dogs as possible.

Julie is a long-time resident of Southern California and lives with a beautiful 2-year-old Husky, named Sabaka, and his two little feline sidekicks, Maverick and Jesse. To this day, group classes are still her favorite format for dog training. She currently conducts 10 dog training classes per week while she remains a dedicated Program Manager for Animal Behavior College. Although Julie maintains an exceptionally full schedule, she says she could never imagine doing anything else. The thrill of working with ABC students during the day and working with dogs and their people at night is worth every busy minute. Julie's love of dogs has been and always will be the driving force in her life and career.

Angela DeLuca
ABC Program Manager

Angela has been involved with animals her entire life. She grew up around horses, dogs, cats and a variety of other animals, however, her true passion has always been for dogs. This passion is what drove her to become a member of the ABC pack.

Angela comes from a long line of professional dog trainers and their influence made her career choice a natural development.

In 2002, Ms. Deluca was hired in the Human Resources Department of Animal Behavior and Training Associates, Inc. Her primary function was to test and hire professional trainers to work in the local Petco stores in the United States and in the local Petcetera stores in Canada. She remained in this position until she was recruited by Animal Behavior College in January of 2004 as an Externship Coordinator. Her exceptional work ethic and knowledge led ABC to promote Ms. Deluca to her current position of Program Manager in November of 2005.

In late 2002, she began her official journey to become a professional dog trainer when she enrolled in Animal Behavior College, Inc. She is proud to say that she graduated the program with honors in 2003 and even prouder to call herself an ABC Certified Dog Trainer.

Currently, she conducts group classes as well as private in-home training sessions and consultations. She has also mentored several ABC Students over the years, and continues to do so. In addition to graduating from the ABC Program, Angela attends as many seminars as possible to further her education. The most recent include Gary Wilkes and Bart Bello. In addition, she has also shadowed various trainers over the years because she believes education is a never ending process.

Angela has lived in Santa Clarita, California for about 6 wonderful years now. She has two great cats, Hobbs and Sugar Mama that have been raised like dogs. Both have learned various tricks through Clicker Training and she really enjoys showing off how talented her cats are.

Angela is proud to be a part of ABC and could not be happier with her career choice.

Azure Long
ABC Program Manager

Azure is a native of California and has had a genuine passion for all animals as long as she can remember. She began her formal education in this industry during high school where she enrolled in animal care classes. Her favorite part of the classes were the field trips to the Placerita Nature Center where she learned first-hand about the habits and care of different species of birds, reptiles and insects.

She has taken numerous zoology courses at the College of the Canyons which focused on the anatomy and biology of various mammals. In addition, she recently completed an Exotic Animal Training workshop which introduced the fundamentals of training behaviors to exotic animals like lions, elephants and bears.

Azure has worked at PetSmart as an Aquatics Specialist and has also worked the front office of an Animal Hospital. She enrolled in the ABC Dog Obedience Instructor Training Program in 2005 and graduated in early 2006. Shortly after becoming an ABC Certified Dog Trainer, Ms. Long officially joined the Animal Behavior College corporate team as an Externship Coordinator. Azure’s outstanding work ethic and dedication earned her a promotion to ABC Program Manager in July of 2006. She is a proven member of our team and we are lucky to have her.

Josh Sunga
ABC Program Manager

Although Josh is a proud native of North Dakota, he has been living and enjoying the beautiful Southern California weather for about four years now.

Josh’s career path into the animal industry began when he was just a toddler. He was raised in a great family environment that had at least two Scottish Terriers at all times. By the time he was five, he had taken over a lot of the responsibilities and “clean up” for them. By the age of nineteen, he became the primary caretaker of his first big dog. She was a shepherd mix named Brownie. Josh acquired Brownie when she was about 7 months old and his experiences with her helped him appreciate the importance of proper socialization and dog training. Josh shared with us that living in the mountains of North Dakota, Brownie did not have the opportunity to meet many new people and by the time she came to live with him, she was already exhibiting aggression toward strangers, especially men. However, through consistent socialization and positive interactions with new people, he was able to change Brownie from a fearfully aggressive dog into a confident friendly dog that enjoyed interacting with everyone. From this point on, he was hooked.

By the time he was twenty-three, he decided to look into a career that involved working with dogs and their owners using positive training techniques. He was thrilled to find Animal Behavior College during this search and immediately enrolled during the summer of 2006. Josh and his goldie-lab mix, Luna, have thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of the program and they are on target to graduate in the summer of 2007.

In addition to pursuing his dream of becoming a professional dog trainer, Josh also works in the ABC corporate office. He was initially hired as an Externship Coordinator but was promoted in 2007 to ABC Program Manager. Josh says, “Becoming an ABC Certified Dog Trainer and helping others do the same has opened up a wonderful doorway into the world of dog training and he couldn’t be happier.”

Heather Hartman
ABC Program Manager

Heather’s life long dream has been to work with the one thing she loves most in the world... animals…especially dogs! In early 2005, she discovered Animal Behavior College and there, she found her niche. She became an ABC Certified Dog Trainer in the summer of 2006.

Growing up, Heather was constantly surrounded by animals. As a child, she had a Sheltie and numerous cats which she adored. By the time she was in Junior High School, she was teaching a grooming class to children at her local church, and assisting her best friend’s mother in training their two Dobermans for professional dog shows.

She later moved to Los Angeles and adopted a Chihuahua and a Pit Bull, whom she spent much time and energy training. She greatly enjoyed training them--so much so that she began to help train dogs of other people she met and would offer any advice she could to assist every pet owner who needed help.

While working towards her ABC certification, Heather also worked at a Doggie Daycare and volunteered at numerous local shelters. ABC was so impressed with her dedication and natural aptitude for working with dogs, they offered her the Program Manager position at the corporate office. Heather eagerly accepted.

She now resides in Santa Clarita with her cherished Chihuahua Fawnie, and her three cats Fred, Pepper, and Simba. She looks forward to conducting her own dog training class in the very near future. Heather possesses patience and a genuine understanding of animals which are two critical components of every successful trainer and mentor.