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Meet Stacie Lemieux of Manners Please Canine Training & Pet Assistant in Torrance

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Stacie Lemieux.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Stacie. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I was working in the property management industry, managing high end apartment communities. I had been doing that job for about 15 years. In that industry, when you changed or lost your job, you also lost your apartment. Between 2008 and 2010, I had moved 4 times. In 2010, I was once again laid off. Incidentally, I also lost my apartment, my marriage and my best friend (my husband became my best friend’s roommate). It was a pretty terrible year for me.

So I went back to live with my father and went on unemployment. It was really hard for me to file for unemployment. I swallowed my pride and did it anyway. I was so embarrassed and ashamed. My income suffered naturally. I went from having an apartment on the marina in Marina Del Rey, to living back at home. I went from a making over 100k a year to living on $400 a week. I was, needless to say, depressed. I was so fortunate to have my Dad to lean on. Without him, I wouldn’t be here today.

While on unemployment, I tried and tried to get another job in my industry, without success. So I thought about changing careers. I was 40 years old and starting over. I asked my dad what he thought about me becoming a dog trainer. As usual, he was very supportive. I have always loved animals and felt a special connection with them. When I was in the apartment industry, properties that allowed pets were few and far between. I always made pet parents feel that they were welcome at the properties I operated. They were treated as unwanted guests in the majority of other rental properties. I always tried to change that. Now that I was out of the field, I wanted to do something directly with animals.

I started researching options. I looked at working in the vet field but I didn’t think I could handle working with sick and injured animals on a regular basis. I decided on dog training and looked into classes. I found Animal Behavior College online and decided to enroll. I used my time on unemployment to study and learn a new career and found that I really loved it. I graduated in under a year and started looking for a job.

Shortly after graduation, I landed a job at PetSmart. I was one of maybe 4 people that worked there over the age of 25. I found out quite quickly that even though I thought I knew a lot, I actually knew very little. My trainer was Lisa Sutton and she is amazing. She is fun and knows so much about dog training and everything that goes with it. I followed her around and tried to learn as much as I could in the 14 days I was with her. After my training period was over, I was transferred to another store where I was pretty much on my own. I met my fellow trainer Chris Lemmon and we were instantly a perfect team. Chris made work fun. He was always looking for info outside of work and would bring it in to share with me. He encouraged me to join APDT (Association of Pet Dog Trainers) and become an evaluator for the AKC Canine Good Citizen program. His parched sense of humor made every shift hilarious, even on the tough days.

I spent 2.5 years at PetSmart and eventually Chris moved on to bigger and better things. I was left in charge of the training program at my store. I eventually added two trainers to my program but was starting to feel like I wanted more out of my career. I was stuck working with a very cookie cutter program and was not allowed to venture out to other subjects like therapy dog training or behavior modification. So I decided to go out on my own.

Being out on my own was so scary. No more regular paychecks. But being on unemployment taught me to live within my means and I didn’t have any debt except school loans. Now I was keeping everything I earned and not sharing it with PetSmart. That helped for sure. But I didn’t have any marketing. No website. No social media sites. All I had was word of mouth and some business cards. Within a few months I went from one appointment a week to three or four. The referrals were coming in a bit more steadily.

During all this excitement, I was also going through a very nasty divorce. I didn’t have much of a social life at all. I really just focused on my Dad who had become ill one Christmas and was hospitalized with unexpected surgery. I kept thinking, if I had a regular 9 to 5 job, I couldn’t do half of the things I was doing to care for him and my own pets. I was so thankful that I had the flexibility to do everything I needed to.

It was during this time, I met my boyfriend Steve. He was shocked to hear that I was running a business with no website or social media. I still ran my appointments on a paper day runner! Being an IT mastermind, this was of course, unacceptable to him. He quickly made me a website and brought me into the tech age with a calendar and electronic notes (I was using a pad and pen for all my client notes). In a few months, I went from 4 appointments a week to 4 appointments a day! I was working 6 days a week. My business really took off. I was booked 2 months in advance. He has been so supportive and has taken such an interest in my work. He even comes along and helps to teach classes!

Over time I started adding in other services. Therapy dog work has always interested me. I started to train my own dog Lindsey to be a therapy dog. Soon after, I began to have folks come to me to teach their dogs to be therapy dogs to work in hospitals and private practice. I have trained some of the most amazing dog/human teams. Dr. Mitch Golant and Luna work with cancer patients and their families. Dr. Christine Forest and River are a canine assisted therapy team in her private practice. Joan August and Cooper work as a therapy dog team at Cedar’s Sainai Hospital. It is amazing that I get to be a part of that. I know that I am helping people every day and I am a part of something bigger than myself.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The hardest part of my job is that I can’t fix everyone. Some dogs can’t be helped, whether it’s the lack of owner compliance or a chemical imbalance. It’s hard for me to let those go. I don’t want to give up. But sometimes you can’t fix it.
Another thing that is really challenging is realizing the dark side of this industry. The amount of animal cruelty in this world is staggering. I was so sheltered and there was a time when I couldn’t even stand to hear instances of even mild neglect without crying. But the truth was, it wasn’t even the tip of the ice burg. I had and still have nightmares about the things I have discovered. Humans really are the most vicious breed on the planet. I try every day to spread understanding and educate anyone who will listen on the subject of abuse.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
Manners Please Canine Training & Pet Assistant is a full pet service company. I offer pet training, pet sitting, pet boarding, walking services, therapy dog training and even a pet taxi service.

I specialize in fearful dogs and therapy dog training. I am known for my patience and passion for my job. I love connecting with pet parents and giving them the opportunity to live a full and happy life with their pet. And that is different for everyone.

I am most proud of my therapy dogs that I have trained. It all started with Dr. Forest. I had worked with Dr. Christine Forest when she came into PetSmart and helped her with her cocker spaniel “Charlie”. He was a fear biter and had been abused by his previous owner. Dr. Forest was so impressed with my work, she started referring me to her clients and professional friends. Eventually, she added “River” to her practice as a therapy dog. She told me how he was becoming quite popular and was getting a lot of requests for appointments! I loved teaching therapy dog training so much that I started to focus on it as a focal point of my training.

What sets me apart from others is I love my job so much! I want to help people. I give them individual attention and I care about their success and their pet’s happiness. I never wake up in the morning and say “I don’t want to go to work today”.

What were you like growing up?
Growing up a redhead, I was always an outsider. I experienced a lot of bullying and I didn’t have a lot of friends. I tried to fit in, joined drill team, brownies, softball and cheerleading. Even though I did well at most of these activities, (except softball, I was terrible at softball), I still didn’t fit in. I was quiet and reserved in high school. This was almost always seen as me being better than everyone else. Couldn’t be farther from the truth! At the end of every school day, I always came home to my pets.

One thing I did have a lot of, pets. I inherited my love of animals from my father. He is always looking to help creatures that are injured or lost. Throughout the years I have had hamsters, birds, turtles, rabbits, cats, dogs and even potbellied pigs. I love being around nature and camping. I am always mesmerized with animal behavior and what they are going to do next. I have always had a connection with animals. I could sense when they weren’t feeling well or sad. I carry that sense with me today with my job as a trainer.

At the end of my senior year in high school, my mom Shirley decided to be a puppy raiser for Guide Dogs of America. Our family took in a Labrador puppy and trained it for 15 months. This was amazing because I was able to bring that puppy to classes when I started college. My parents did most of the training but I realized then how much having a dog under my desk calmed me. I have always held onto that feeling. My mom is passed on now but it is one of the gifts she has given me. The memories of her loving and raising a puppy, only to give it away 15 months later so it can help someone else have a better life? That was incredible. I wanted to be a part of that too.

Pricing:

  • Training starts at $85.00 per hour
  • Boarding from $65.00 per day
  • Pet Sitting from $95.00 per day
  • Pet Taxi from $15.00 per trip

Contact Info:

Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.

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