Meet Our Training Class Instructors

Sarah Babcock, CTC, CPDT-KSA, CBCC-KA, CDBC  
Advanced Agility Classes 

While she was working at IBM, Sarah found, adopted and began training a dog named Crosby. Crosby inspired Sarah to pursue additional education in animal behavior at the University of Richmond where she completed 3 years of graduate work in psychology and neuroscience. 

Sarah joined the staff of the Richmond SPCA in 2001, soon after graduating valedictorian and with honors from Jean Donaldson’s Academy for Dog Trainers at the San Francisco SPCA. 

The dogs who share Sarah’s home have competed in canine agility, trained in tricks, done commercial work for local and national brands, appeared on the cover of Bark magazine and visited local retirement communities as part of the Richmond SPCA’s Paws for Health® program. Her Henrico County farm is also home to cats, chickens and miniature horses, all of whom have benefited from some degree of clicker training. 

Jacob Burnheimer 
A Hound in the Home, Managing a Reactive Dog, puppy and manners classes

Jacob discovered his love of canine behavior when he joined the Richmond SPCA Training and Education team in 2017. As a School for Dogs trainer and class instructor, Jacob enjoys teaching dogs and their people through the science of learning and the art of training. His popular A Hound in the Home class has put him on the map with clients who share their lives with these loveable dogs.    

Jacob shares his home with an adopted hound named Sophie, and two Richmond SPCA alumni cats, Frankie and Gracie, as well as a happy flock of chickens and ducks. 

Mariah Dudley, CPDT-KA 
Puppy classes, Managing a Reactive Dog, Surviving Adolescence, Canine Manners 

Mariah became interested in behavior and training in 2017 after rescuing her first dog. She interned at a local dog training facility and began teaching her own classes in 2019. Mariah started her own dog training business in 2020 and joined the Richmond SPCA as a class instructor in 2021. She earned her CPDT-KA (Certified Professional Dog Trainer – Knowledge Assessed) certification through the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers (CCPDT) in 2021 and is a member of the Association of Professional Dog Trainers (APDT). She is passionate about continuing education and is always seeking opportunities to learn more about canine behavior.  

She shares her life and home with her rescue pets, Sadie, a Husky/Shepherd mix, and Opie, a Pitbull/Pomeranian/Rottie mix, her cat Simba, a very patient partner and her two young kiddos. 

Julie Fields, CPDT-KA 
Surviving Adolescence, Canine Manners, Street Manners, Private Lessons 

Julie started training as a member of the Richmond SPCA’s Green Team in 2012. Green Team members provide training, exercise and mental stimulation to prepare the dogs in our care for adoption. She quickly realized, “The best dog in the world is the one you are with right now!” After working with shelter dogs and assisting in all levels of classes, she joined the training staff in 2019. She achieved her CPDT-KA in 2023 and continues her education with courses that enhance training.  Julie greatly enjoys interactions with students and their pets and strives to help everyone achieve their training goals.  

She lives with her husband, Lee, and two dogs, Max and Kido. 

Cassidy Gresham 
Agility A, B, CGC Evaluator 

Cassidy has been training dogs for nearly twenty years, with experience in programs like the AKC Canine Good Citizen, National 4-H Dog Training Council, and Therapy Dogs International. She joined the SPCA’s School for Dogs in 2022 and began teaching agility in 2023, where her goal is to combine fun and skill in every class. 

Cassidy especially enjoys working with senior dogs and helping shelter dogs gain confidence through learning agility. At home, she’s surrounded by her animal crew, including her rescue dogs including her blind Chihuahua mix, Ham Sam’mich, horses, cats, a potbelly pig, and a red footed tortoise named Rudi. 

Anne Grier 
Agility A, B 

Anne has been an instructor at the Richmond SPCA since 2018. Her classes are designed to introduce dogs and their handlers to the wonderful sport of agility. She strives to strengthen her students’ connections to their pets by fostering play and a sense of fun while building effective communication between dog and handler. 

Anne served on the Richmond SPCA’s board of directors for many years, including terms as chair of the board. She was honored to receive our Ellen Glasgow Award for Humane Service in 2005. 

Anne has five dogs of her own, three of whom play agility with her. 

Sandi Pitini 
Agility C, D Workshops 

Sandi has been competing in agility for over 18 years and has been an agility instructor since 2023. Her dog Dancer, who has earned 14 MACH's (championships) and her younger dog Dreamer who has earned 5 MACH's are ranked in the AKC top 15 golden retrievers in the country for agility. Sandi is training her youngest golden in agility foundation and related skills.  Her goals as an instructor include helping students build teamwork and focus with their dogs and identifying the best paths and cues for their dogs to succeed at trials.  Sandi uses actual course maps from the Master level judges to build her courses.  This allows her students to test their skills at this level of competition and learn options on handling difficult sequences to improve their performance.   

Julie W., IAABC-ADT, AD-PDT, CTDI  
Rally Obedience, Canine Manners, Tricks, Specialty Classes  

Julie began her dog training career under the mentorship of a certified dog behaviorist and began training professionally in 2016. As the organization’s Rally Obedience instructor, Julie brings many educational and professional achievements to the human-dog teams of the Richmond SPCA community. Julie is a Certified Trick Dog Instructor (CDTI), Accredited Dog Trainer (ADT) through the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants, and Certified Professional Dog Trainer (PDT) through Absolute Dogs.  

Her rescue dog, Elsie, has earned her WCRL (rally) Level 3 Title, Expert Trick Dog and Trick Dog Performer titles, and Canine Good Citizenship. Julie’s young rising star, Rhubarb Pi (Ruby) has earned her Advanced Trick Dog title and is working toward earning her AKC rally titles. A strong proponent of positive reinforcement training, canine enrichment, and least invasive, minimally aversive (LIMA) guidelines, Julie is continually seeking new training challenges for herself and her girls.  

Rheanna Miller, ABCDT, CPDT-KA 
Coordinator of School for Dogs, Paws for Health, CGC Evaluator  

Rheanna joined the School for Dogs as a trainer in 2018 and became coordinator of the program in 2023. She specializes in basic manners, loose-leash walking, addressing challenging behaviors, preparing dogs to succeed in the AKC Canine Good Citizen test, and instructing the Richmond SPCA Paws for Health certification class.  

With a firm belief that every dog and guardian is unique, she tailors her training plans to meet the needs of each individual team. Training should be an enjoyable and rewarding bonding experience, and her lessons are designed to be engaging, practical, and fun for both dogs and their guardians. 

After completing the Animal Behavior College dog training program, Rheanna earned her CPDT-KA certification in 2021, is an AKC Canine Good Citizen evaluator and certified in Pet CPR. 

At home, she shares her life with two dogs: Simba, a Boxer/Lab mix she has raised since puppyhood, and Grady, a Rottweiler adopted from the Richmond SPCA in 2019.

Emma Bailey, CTC 
School for Dogs, Private lessons  

Emma started her journey with the Richmond SPCA as an adoptions counselor and transferred to the School for Dogs in 2019. She believes that a mutually beneficial relationship between a dog and his guardian is built through positive reinforcement and understanding the specific needs of each dog. 

Emma is an honors graduate of The Academy for Dog Trainers. She enjoys her free time with her blind husky, Russell and her brother’s dog Floyd.   

Leanne Battle 
Agility A 

Leanne’s agility classes introduce handlers and their dogs to the agility equipment and good handling techniques. The most important part of her classes is for everyone to have fun. She hopes that all of her students feel more connected to their dogs and ready to proceed in whatever additional training they choose. 

Leanne is a long time Running Buddies volunteer at the Richmond SPCA.  Her personal dogs also enjoy time and training at Richmond SPCA School for Dogs.  In her spare time Leanne is a marathon runner and enjoys sewing and gardening.