Enhancing Our Community Outreach: Meet our Bilingual Pet Education Associate Sofia!

We are thrilled to start an exciting new chapter for Napa Humane!  Thanks to The David and Jane Gotelli Family Fund, a Field of Interest Fund of Napa Valley Community Foundation, we have the funds to create an important new staff position – Bilingual Pet Education Associate. We are so excited to welcome Sofia Vargas, CPDT-KA, to our team.

This role will help Napa Humane rise to meet the needs of our community. In addition to expanding our Dog Training reach, Sofia will support our Humane Education work.  She will assist with community outreach events, classroom presentations, and any education-related scenarios where bilingual capabilities are needed. By bridging language barriers, Sofia will enhance our outreach, education, and advocacy efforts.  This ensures our message of humane treatment and responsible pet ownership resonates with even more individuals and families. This addition marks a significant milestone in our commitment to fostering compassion and understanding across diverse communities.

Stay tuned, as we will be announcing a full slate of dog training classes, available in Spanish, very soon!

Meet Sofia

Sofía volunteered as an independent rescuer for 4 years while living in Mexico.  During this time she connected with the public to find strays, and collaborated with veterinarians to provide medical care.  She also teamed up with fellow rescuers to help find their forever homes. Due to lack of training a few rescuers kept having people return adopted animals.  This inspired Sofía to look into becoming a dog trainer. Doing some research she found that Animal Behavior College had a dog obedience training program which fit the training style she was looking for.

After studying, passing tests and completing internship hours, Sofía graduated in May of 2020 as a Certified Dog Trainer. Eager to start her journey on educating owners and their dogs, Sofía started her own business in June of 2021 with the goal of helping the hispanic community. Education and safety is extremely important to Sofía, which is why she is CPR certified and a member of APDT, SBVT, PPG, and Fear-Free Pets where she continues to improve her LIMA training skills.

¡Conoce a Sofía!

Sofía fue voluntaria durante 4 años en México, durante este tiempo se conectó con el público para encontrar perros callejeros y colaboró con veterinarios para proveer atención médica. Tambien formó equipo con otros rescatistas para ayudar a encontrarles sus hogares definitivos. Debido a la falta de entrenamiento, la gente estaba devolviendo animals adoptados a algunos de los rescatistas.  Esto la inspiró a estudiar para ser Entrenadora canina. Al investigar un poco, descubrió que Animal Behavior College tenía un programa de entrenamiento que parecía al estilo que buscaba. Después de estudiar, pasar exámenes y completar horas de práctica, Sofía se graduó en Mayo del 2020 como Entrenadora Canina Profesional.

Ansiosa por comenzar a educar, Sofía comenzó su propio negocio en Junio del 2021 con el objetivo de ayudar a la comunidad hispana. La educación y la seguridad son extremadamente importante para Sofía, por eso es que está certificada en RCP y es miembro de APDT, SBVT, PPG y Fear-Free Pets, donde continúa mejorando sus habilidades de entrenamiento en LIMA.