KAREN GORMAN Owner & Trainer
Karen graduated from Essex Agricultural and Technical School in 1991. With her dog grooming certification, Karen’s career and love for dogs became a life style. Shortly thereafter Karen bought Tess, her German Shepherd dog and first agility dog, which opened many doors for her. Tess was a very special dog and she is missed greatly. Tess was known around the Agility circuit as “That German Shepherd from New England”. Tess had a very fast and flashy weave pole performance; they also used to say she was a Border Collie in Shepherd clothing! Visit our About Us page to see more about Karen’s dogs!
In 1995, Karen graduated from Julie Daniel’s 5 day instructor certification course held at the White Mountain School of Agility in New Hampshire. In 1996, she attended a 3 day Teaching Dog Agility seminar at All Dogs Gym in New Hampshire, taught by Jean McKenzie and Gail Fisher. Since then Karen has been teaching weekly classes and attending many agility camps and seminars. Karen has worked with many of the well-known agility icons: Elicia Calhoon, Monica Percival, Susan Garrett, Jen Pinder, Rhonda Carter, Brenda Buja, Marco Mouwen, and Julie Daniels.
Karen’s favorite things to do include hiking with her husband, John, and the dogs in the White Mountains. She especially enjoys Crawford Notch and Mount Cranmore. The dogs’ favorite thing is swimming in the lake after a nice hike.
JULIE ANNESE
Julie has extensive experience working with animals in a professional setting: she is a certified groomer, has worked in animal hospitals (including Massachusetts Veterinary Hospital), and has owned a dog walking/pet sitting business for the past nine years. She was recently approved as a United States Canine Scent Sports CSD/Judge and is a Certified Professional Canine Fitness Trainer (CPCFT). Constantly expanding her knowledge of scent work training, she has completed multiple scent work webinars, workshops, and seminars, including one with Fred Helfer. Julie is passionate about animals, especially dogs, and is scent work obsessed!
Julie owns two Pomeranians and a Rocky Mountain Horse, along with a flock of hens and one rooster. In the past she’s owned goats, rabbits, and other small animals. She currently competes in scent work at the Excellent level (PSD), and Fast CAT and is training in Rally and soon Barn Hunt. Vixen, her Pom, has earned numerous titles in PSD and USCSS and her other Pom, Merlin, recently earned his AKC BCAT title after only five runs. Merlin is ranked in the top 20 for Pomeranians in Fast CAT.
In her free time, Julie enjoys skiing, snowmobiling, hiking with her dogs, horseback riding, freshwater fishing, kayaking, and going to Bruins’ games.
GILLIAN CARROLL
Gillian Carroll has always known she loved animals and wanted to be heavily involved in anything dogs since she was young. She accidentally stumbled into agility training in 2019 after graduating from the University of New Hampshire with an Associates in Applied Animal Science with a focus in Veterinary Assistance. In school her border collie, Nellie, was borrowed by a fellow classmate to try an agility sampler. The classmate reported back that Nellie was a natural at agility so she signed up for classes later that year and she was hooked. Since then Nellie has introduced Gilly into the wide world of dog sports. Competing in agility across USDAA, CPE and UKI, they also have done dock diving, parkour, trick training, obedience and compete in CPE’s speedway. Nellie has C-ATCH 5, Extraordinaire(s) and championship titles in CPE, their IND in UKI and closing in on their ISD title and a few achievements in USDAA. Nellie and Gilly also have their speedway bronze legendary title and are close to their silver. Nellie and Gilly have traveled to the CPE nationals three years in a row and have medaled over ten times all across the country. Gilly has served on the board of a local New England club, NEAT for the past 4 years as the head of membership and communications. Dog sports are deeply embedded into her life. Nellie may have been Gilly’s first sport dog but the future is full of dreams of continuing getting dogs to hopefully compete with them too.
Although agility was never on Gilly’s radar, it is Nellie who she has to thank for not only introducing her into the wide world of dog sports, but for the passion of teaching the sports. Teaching is something she never thought she would enjoy but it has become something that brings her so much fulfillment. Watching teams succeed is such an amazing experience. At the end of the day, Gilly loves to see teams connect and make strides for the betterment of their relationship.
Before Nellie, Gilly had mainly border collies and a lab thrown in there too. She didn’t have any idea about dog sports back then but knows now they would’ve really gained a lot from them. Outside of classes and competitions, Gilly has worked in the dog industry since she was young. Between dog sitting, walking, training and now adventuring dogs as her full time job – dogs have always been around her. She also enjoys training the same tricks that Nellie knows to her two rescue cats, Alfie and Maudie! Did you know there is cat agility? The goal is one day she’ll enter an agility trial for her cats too.
Gilly says that she has accomplished all these things through her passion of positive reinforcement and making sure that her dog is having fun.
MADELYN CIRINNA
Madelyn Cirinna is a well-known local expert in dog behavior who brings a rich and diverse background to Fit-n-Trim. She was an early childhood and special education teacher for over 20 years. She was an Animal Care and Control Officer for 25 years. She is trained for Emergency and Disaster Response and gives talks on Bite prevention, Disaster preparedness, and Emergency First Aid. For the past 30 years, she has also been an obedience and agility instructor.
Madelyn’s background and experience have instilled in her the importance of starting dogs out right from the time they are puppies. She always seems to have a puppy in the household. She has had several rescue and kennel dogs to help become loved household pets with new behaviors and training. Madelyn has titled dogs in obedience, agility, confirmation, rally-o, herding, hunt tests, trick dog, Canine Good Citizen & therapy. She has MACH, UD, and Champion dogs. She has bred Shetland Sheepdogs and Border Collies and is an ACK Breeder of Merit.
At Fit-n-Trim Madelyn brings her many years of experience working with dogs and their owners’ positive methods to build a strong relationship and the foundation they need to have a dog that is a great family companion. Madelyn is an AKC Evaluator for CGC, CGCA, and Trick dog titles. She believes training must be fun and that every moment spent with your dog is training. Obedience training is not simply a dog learning commands, but a dog learning to learn and an owner learning to teach the dog in a way the dog can understand.
JESSICA DREW
Jessica Drew is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA) and a graduate of the University of Washington’s Applied Animal Behavior program, holding the UW-AAB certification. With five years of hands-on training experience, Jessica is passionate about helping dogs and their families better understand one another through clear communication and compassionate training.
Jessica’s journey working with dogs began at just 16 years old as a daycare attendant in Kittery, Maine. While she quickly fell in love with the dogs in her care, she became deeply curious about their behavior—why they act the way they do and how humans can better understand them. This passion led her to leave her nursing program and pursue animal behavior more directly. She attended North Shore Community College, graduating in May 2023 as an Animal Care Specialist, and later continued her education through the University of Washington’s Applied Animal Behavior program.
Jessica has a special interest in working with reactive dogs. Her passion for this area developed through her own dog, Loki, a seven-year-old hound mix who struggled with reactivity. Through helping Loki navigate his big emotions, Jessica discovered just how powerful the human-dog relationship can be when built on understanding, trust, and communication. That experience continues to inspire her work today.
Jessica aims to help families better understand their dogs while providing practical guidance for navigating behavior challenges like reactivity. She believes training should feel approachable, engaging, and achievable, and draws inspiration from trainers such as Susan Garrett and Leslie McDevitt in her approach.
Outside of teaching, Jessica continues to invest in her education by attending lectures, workshops, and classes with her own dog’s. In her free time, she enjoys Agility with her Beauceron Valour, hiking, biking, and spending time on the beach.
DIANE HANLEY
Diane is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer – Knowledge Assessed (CPDT-KA) thru the Certification Council of Professional Dog Trainers and a professional member of the Association of Professional Dog Trainers. She is also a certified L.E.G.S. Family Dog Mediator.
Diane regularly teaches Puppy K, Basic Manners, Intermediate Manners, and Nervous Nellies class. She incorporates many Control Unleashed® techniques because of their simplicity and effectiveness. Diane specializes in working with shy, anxious or excitable dogs. Her goal is to help people understand their dog’s behavior and to effectively address behavior challenges. Diane is available for private lessons at Fit n Trim and is available for in-home training.
Diane says she became a dog trainer because “It took me 6 years to find a way to train my reactive dog successfully. The training method used was positive reinforcement and it transformed my relationship with my dog from confusion and frustration to one of trust and effective communication. I was so relieved! My dog, Miss Shelby, was indeed trainable, very attentive, and an eager learner.”
After that experience, she apprenticed with Dee Ganley Dog Training for 3 years, received her certification, and has over 300 hours of continuing education to date. She lives on the North Shore with her husband, Mike, and their two rescue dogs, Rudy and Domino.
KIM KEZER
Kim grew up in Narragansett, RI and graduated from the University of Rhode Island with a BS focusing on Aquaculture. She first became involved with animal training at Mystic Marinelife Aquarium, where she worked for 13 years with a variety of seals and sea lions, dolphins, beluga whales, penguins, fish and invertebrates. In 1998, she and her new husband moved to Massachusetts with their Rottweiler and cat. There Kim became a Senior Zoo Keeper with Zoo New England (Franklin Park Zoo and Stone Zoo), where she gained experience with many land species including giraffe, primates, hippos and large cats. She is now the zoos’ Animal Training Advisor, educating staff on training methods and helping them develop training programs.
Kim and her husband now live in Amesbury with their two Irish Water Spaniels (IWS), Fiona and Selchie, and their cat, Diesel. Kim’s earlier experiences with animal training and her experience training her own dogs led her to the show ring with Fiona, her first Water Spaniel, who is now a breed champion with RN and CD titles in obedience. Kim and Fiona will compete at Westminster this year. They are also working on Fiona’s CDX and RA, and, in the field, on her JH (Junior Hunter) title. Fiona is only the 80th IWS in the history of the breed to earn the IWSCA All Around IWS award in recognition of her accomplishments. Fiona is the mother of Kim’s second IWS, Selchie, who was born in March, 2007. Selchie has a natural love of retrieving and has been great fun to train.
Kim began her formal career as a dog trainer after attending puppy classes with Fiona. Since then, she has taught a variety of courses including Tricks, Canine Good Citizen, and Therapy Dog. We are delighted that she is now bringing her wealth of training and competition experience to Fit-N-Trim.
NADINE PERRY
Nadine Perry, grew up with dogs and inherited her love of animals from her father who was always rescuing a stray pup or dog. He would just come home with a new member of the family that someone had given him or was not wanted elsewhere. When she was 5, Nadine brought home her first stray. Happily for the dog her owners located her but even at 5, she was prepared to feed and train her.
Nadine learned about Agility from Julie Daniels, a well-know trainer and competitor and ultimately joined an agility club and began teaching agility. Nadine has taught at Bo-Gee, New England Agility Team (NEAT), and Riverside Canine as well as at the Bainbridge Island Parks and Recreation Department in Washington.
She has competed with her dogs, Coco and Rubens, at USDAA, NADAC, and AKC trials. Coco has earned her USDAA Masters titles in Standard, Snooker, and Jumpers and also her NADAC Elite titles. Rubens earned his AKC and NADAC Novice titles before having to retire due to an injury. Nadine is now preparing her newest dog, Twinkie, for competition. Twinkie is a newly-certified Therapy Dog, who recently earned her TDI. She needs only 3 more points to finish her breed championship. She has gone Best of Breed over Specials at her 4 most recent trials.
JUDY REGAN
Judy Regan brings a strong combination of practical competition experience and formal training to Fit-N-Trim. She started training more than a decade ago when she and her husband, Mike, adopted Livey, a beautiful mixed-breed puppy. She first trained Livey in Obedience and then, after watching a demo at the Topsfield Fair, caught the agility bug, which led her to Karen and Fit-N-Trim in 2004. In January of 2009, after only a few years of competition, Judy and Livey brought home a C-ATCH. Judy now has three Border Collies, Reese, Amber and Rush, and she competes in CPE, AKC and USDAA. Reese now has his C-ATCH2 and C-ATE and Amber has her C-ATCH. Reese is working on his Excellent and Masters titles in AKC.
Judy’s interest in training soon made her want to teach…particularly at the Beginner and Advanced Beginner Agility…because she recognized the importance of a strong foundation for dogs starting their agility careers. Since beginning to teach in 2010, she has taken a variety of classes and seminars including Control on Leash and Dealing with Reactive Dogs. She has also taken a series of Prime Time Seminars specifically designed for young dogs just starting agility. Judy has also started training the OneMind method.
KRIS THOBER
Kris started with her first dog in 1985, a Rough Collie that did obedience, herding and tracking. Her first Smooth Collie was ranked the #1 obedience Collie in the nation and has over twenty-five all-breed HITs. He was the first Smooth Collie to place in the prestigious Gaines and World Series tournaments and to be invited to the AKC Obedience Nationals.
Kris’s first Border Collie introduced her to the sports of agility and breed competition. Kris has finished four AKC champions herself and has many agility titles. Her focus when teaching obedience and agility is first to ensure that both dog and handler are having fun. She has a keen eye for footwork and body language that enhances the performance of the handler/dog team.
BUNNY WATSON
Bunny began agility training in 2006, competing in both AKC and CPE Agility since 2009 with four dogs she has trained. In addition to agility her 2 Belgian sheepdogs are also training and competing in Obedience, Rally and Scent Work. Penelope, her young shih tzu/bichon cross, has begun competing in scent and is working towards agility competitions.
Having worked and lived with animals all her life Bunny wanted to make animals a career, majoring in animal science at Mount Ida College with a focus on veterinary technology. She worked at the Museum of Science for 26 years caring for/training wildlife and exotic animals for use as ambassadors in education programs. The many animals she trained included opossums, a bobcat, skunks, and birds of prey. As a CVT she is currently working as a vet tech in a private practice. She also rides and trains horses, and has competed in dressage shows.
As a dog trainer Bunny especially enjoys working with beginners and their dogs, watching her students become a team with their dogs as they have fun learning new skills together.