My name is Anjie Coates, I'm Pet Tech Instructor #2383. I’m one of the owners of Furry Tails Grooming Salon & Spa. I became a Pet Tech Instructor because when I was an Animal Control Officer I had a Pointer named Cooper. Cooper came from a cruelty case, and was little more than bones. He was 26 pounds when I got him, he was blind, diabetic from organ shut down, and I adopted him. I had no experience with diabetes, needles, blood draws or a dog so malnourished his heart may simply quit. I did as much research as I could but I needed hands on training. What I found were courses that gave me what would be ideal in a first aid kit, but little in the way of practical skills. I had to go to my vet and ask him for training. Cooper lived for 6 years after I got him. They initially gave him a life expectancy of 6 months. When I returned to grooming full time I took every course I could for first aid and CPR, but again there was no hands on training. I wanted more. I didn’t want to feel that I was so grossly unprepared for something that could occur. For years I took any first aid course I could, always leaving dissatisfied. Then I found the Pet Tech course. I left there feeling like I had not only learned the things I had wanted to learn, needed to learn, but that I was finally prepared. I knew what to do if a situation arose, I wasn’t guessing anymore. I want to give that reassurance of knowledge, of preparedness to others, so they know that should an emergency arise they could handle it. They had practical skills they could rely on in times of emergency that they could employ to save a life. These skills since they were practiced wouldn’t be something they’d be doing for the first time read from a card, or off a phone, it would be muscle memory, and they could make a difference, and save a life.