shayna preston

My career path really started during the pandemic when I was laid off from the cooking industry for about a year and a half. I connected with a lot of people in the neighborhood who had dogs at the park, and we did dog play dates. I started making dog treats for my own dogs and then began selling them to my dog friends, which led me to realize that my true purpose is to be with dogs. I've always loved animals my whole entire life and grew up with tons of different kinds of animals because my aunt had a house full of them. After the pandemic, I went back to cooking but it didn't last long, so I've been driving for Uber and Lyft for the last three and a half years. Last year, I decided to go to dog training school after talking to the director for a few years. I filled out for an entrepreneurship scholarship and won, so I got to go to the Academy of Pet Careers in St. Charles for free, even after having cardiac arrest and being in a second car accident. The school and director were awesome and took care of my equipment costs. After graduating in May, I got a part-time dog training position at Good Dog Enrichment and also do personal training sessions with people in my neighborhood. I combine my culinary skills from Laco Culinary school with my dog treat business, which is holistic using nothing but organic ingredients and very minimal ingredients. I mill my own oat flour and use no corn, no soy, no wheat. I'm known in the neighborhood as the treat lady or the girl with the three dogs because I just give treats out and even make specialty treats for dogs with sensitive stomachs, like buying fresh salmon and dehydrating it for one dog in the neighborhood.