Susie's Pet Care LLC
dog walking, training, and pet sitting
dog walking, training, and pet sitting
About Us
Susie and her rehabbed terrier mix, Phoebe doing "urban agility" and hi-five!
Susie DeFord is a lifelong pet owner and lover. She grew up in Florida where she had a dog and two cats and worked with horses from a young age. She started her dog walking business when she moved to Brooklyn in 2000. In the beginning, she used dog walking and pet sitting to supplement her income; she also taught after school at Brooklyn Friends and Berkeley Carroll Schools. In 2005 she earned her MFA in creative writing at New School University and began dog walking full time. Soon, seeing some of her clients needed help with behavior issues, she began drawing from her many years of experience and study of animal behavior to offer behavior modification and training. Many satisfied longtime customers later, Susie's Pet Care is still going strong offering personalized, loving care to pets in Brooklyn!
Susie is a member of the APDT and is CPDT-KA certified dog trainer. She has studied and worked with Sue Sternberg, Pia Silvani, Trish King, Pat Whitacre and other trainers at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. In 2010 Susie was invited to train dogs for a few weeks at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Utah.
Susie writes the blog Dog Poet Laureate and is author of the poetry and photography book Dogs of Brooklyn. Buy it now!
Dennis Riley (pictured with our dog Phoebe "helping" and our cat Itty Pity sleeping on back of couch), Susie's husband, pet sits and is our official photographer. He has collaborated with Susie on her book, Dogs of Brooklyn, adding several wonderful dog pictures to her words. His photography can be found on our pictures section. For photography inquiries please contact him.
Our mascot cat, Itty, RIP April 2012
Randi Lass (pictured here with her rescues Sheba and Coolidge) is a lifelong animal lover and advocate volunteering her time with several local rescue organizations. She and her husband live in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn and hope to open an animal rescue someday. Interests include running, hiking, travel and the great outdoors.
Holmes Rackleff (pictured with her dog Dee), grew up in Florida with pets and volunteered in her uncle's veterinary clinic as a kid. Holmes is a pet lover and freelance writer who lives in Brooklyn with her dog and best friend of seven years, Detroit Rock City (Dee for short).
Kristin Gardner (pictured with her dog Apple) is an animal lover, writer, and tutor. She lives in Manhattan with her husband, dog, and cat and enjoys spending time out in Montauk with them as well.
Brian Blomerth (pictured with his own pup Slippy) has always been an avid dog lover. While growing up in Newport News, Va, his family rescued retired racing greyhounds and Brian is a big advocate for dog rescue. In his spare time, Brian is a freelance graphic designer, but mostly he enjoys taking Slip to the dog park and watching him befriend dogs much larger
than him.
Randy Saunders is an animal lover from California who has lived in Brooklyn for 5 years. He worked for many years as professional cook, but wanted to spend more time with animals. He hopes to someday teach english abroad.
Bimol Karmaker (pictured with his cat Mars) has been a pet lover his whole life, and has had wonderful cats for the last 11 years. He also has a pet turtle named Homeland Security. All of his pets have been rescues or strays, and he looks forward to the time when he'll be ready to adopt a dog of his own. In addition to walking with us he's working towards becoming a classical pianist.