Beth Peterson, founder and Program Administrator for Pets Uplifting People Society (PUPS), has a long personal history of animal related activities. She is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer, Delaware Certified Volunteer Administrator, Level-2 Tellington TTouch Method Practitioner, Certified AKC Canine Good Citizen evaluator, Certified Therapy Dogs International evaluator, Delta Society Pet Partner, Pet First Aid Instructor, as well as the owner and lead-instructor of Positive Pups & Ponies Learning Center.

Beth began her career in dogs in 1974 as a Veterinary Assistant and later became a Licensed Animal Technician. During her years as a Vet Tech, Beth began developing her ability to work with dogs and their owners in many areas including effective communication, behavior modification, health maintenance and physical conditioning. It was at this time that she was first asked to work, one-on-one, with clients and their "problem" dogs. Beth analyzed inappropriate behaviors and explained why she believed they were being displayed. This helped clients understand their dogs - which allowed the successful modification of their dog's actions into appropriate (and much appreciated!) behavior. In 1976, Beth became the instructor of the local dog clubs' first Puppy Class, an assistant in the Novice obedience classes, and a helper in the Open and Utility obedience classes.

In 1988, Beth moved to Delaware and began teaching Basic Dog Care and Obedience at Dover Air Force Base. In early 1991 she developed her training classes into the positive reinforcement-based Good Dog! Training, offering Basic Manners, Introduction to Agility and Novice Obedience classes. She had a friend takeover Good Dog! in the late 1990's. Beth began teaching group classes again in 2002 for the Kent County SPCA, resumed training classes at Dover Air Force Base in November 2003, and began offering Therapy (Animal Assisted Activities) Dog classes at the State Hospital Grounds in 2004 as well as participating with her dogs in scheduled therapy (Animal Assisted Therapy) programs with the providers at the Center for Behavioral Health.

Beth enjoys presenting demonstrations and seminars designed specifically for children at the Kent County SPCA Summer Camps and Dover Air Force Base, as well as teaching conformation handing workshops in Germany. Her German students and their dogs have been awarded class placements, class wins, multiple Reserve Winners, Winners Dogs, Winners Bitch, Best of Winners, Best of Opposite Sex (Intact and Altered) and Best of Breed (Intact and Altered) awards.

Beth and Roopy helped Junior Girl Scout Troop 1057 earn their Pet Care Badge at the Kent County SPCA. In response to multiple requests, Beth began providing "BARK" (Be Aware Responsible & Kind) Dog Bite Prevention classes in the Dover area in the Spring of 2002, and Pet First Aid classes in 2004. Roopy and Beth attended the Dover Public Library Read-A-Loud program with a record attendance of 40 pre-schoolers and their parents! Roopy, Coal (a English Self Cavy) and Beth look forward to meeting with the YMCA pre-schoolers this Spring.

You can find Beth participating in Visiting Pet Therapy and/or Animal Assisted Therapy on a weekly basis. Beth has been a member of the Therapy Dogs International, Incorporated (TDI, located in NJ, the original registry for visiting emotional therapy dogs) since the late 1980's and is one of their Certified Therapy Dog Evaluators. Three of her dogs earned the highest level designation of active emotional therapy offered by TDI - Therapy Dog International Active Outstanding Volunteer (TDIAOV) in 2002. She has been a Delta Society Pet Partner since 2004 with her Aussie (Roopy) and Cavies (Coal & Lola). Beth has been the point-of-contact for two in-State canine Visiting Emotional Therapy programs since the early 1990's.

Beth has been a member of Delaware State-mandated, 5-person Delaware Dog Control Panel (often called the 'Dangerous Dog Panel") since its inception in 1999. She has been the acting chairperson for cases heard in Kent County since 2004, and was appointed chair for the state in 2006. This State mandated panel was created by law makers to preside over all dog bite/dog injury cases in the state of Delaware. Panel members, all experts on dog handling and control, work in conjunction with the State Attorney when a dog has threatened, bitten or damaged a person or their animal(s). The State presents their case, allowing the defendant to present their defense, and then the Panel determines if the dog is dangerous, potentially dangerous or not dangerous based on the evidence presented. After the designation has been decided, the Panel then determines the appropriate penalty according to DE law.

Following the 2-year program, completed in 16 months, Beth was a qualified Tellington TTouch Method Practitioner - 20 months later, she had reached Level-2. This unique approach to training was developed by internationally known animal expert, Linda Tellington-Jones. Based on cooperation, understanding, compassion and respect for our animal friends, the techniques used support veterinary care, training and behavior modification by building confidence and eliminating fearful or inappropriate responses. Recognized worldwide, this systematic method is easy to learn and brings quick lasting results. TTouch is currently being used by animal owners, trainers, breeders, veterinarians, vet technicians, groomers, pet sitters and shelter workers in over 25 countries worldwide.