Hi!
My name is Ava, and I have been taking care of people and pets for most of my life.
I was immediately thrust into the role of a caretaker as the oldest of four children....so I ended up helping raise my three younger brothers. I also started training dogs at a very young age when my grandfather bought me some dog training books (11 years old).
I have current certifications with the American Red Cross in CPR/ AED, First Aid, Lifegaurding, HIV awareness, Alzheimers awareness, a Home Health Care concentration, and animal first aid and cpr.
I graduated from the American Red Cross's Nurse Assistant Training Program in January of 2010, and I have been working exclusively in Home Health Care since 2010. In My experience working with seniors and disabled adults and children I have a combined total of about 10 years (I started out doing OT in a gymnastics center that my family owned and operated; the focus was on the development of motor and social skills).
In 2011, I burned out in fulltime round the clock home care so I expanded my personal services into the animal care field, and started taking on new clients of my own thru friends and family referrals.
I ended up helping people alot more than just with my health care certifications...I also did dog walking, grooming, dog sitting & nannying, pet care/ house sitting, home and office cleaning- ect.
Over the years I have most enjoyed working with animals so I started reading grooming books and working on my skills as a groomer in 2012 when a friend gave me some of her grooming equipment to use.
I eventually decided to goto school and graduated from grooming school at the Cashmere Academy of Pet Grooming in Melbourne, Florida after a 9 month internship where I studied AKC breed standards of grooming for dogs and cats with a certified master groomer (AKC).
(My birth/legal name is "Joanna" as appears on my drivers license. I didn't start going by "Ava" until late 2010.)
