About Us
Devina Iyer is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer- Knowledge Assessed (CPDT-KA) through the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers. She is a proud member of the Pet Professional Guild, an Accredited Dog Trainer and Shelter Behavior Affiliate with the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants and a certified Family Dog Mediator.
She and Jacob live with their two dogs on a little woodland homestead in Maine where they also raise chickens and ducks and grow lots of vegetables.
Devina has never met a stranger (in a dog) - from the street dogs in South India where she grew up, to the shelter dogs and family pets she's worked with since moving to Maine in 2013. She loves helping dogs and their humans find confidence and joy in working together cooperatively. Find a list of some of her continuing education classes here.
Jacob Wartell has a background in landscaping, building, and project management. In addition to building out the physical infrastructure of Cooperative Dogs, he organizes and constructs training equipment and works with Devina in managing the day to day operations of the company.
He is delighted by dogs’ capacity for blissful abandon, their unabashed honesty, and their gustatory enthusiasm. He is also constantly moved by their ability to help humans connect with the kind, vulnerable, and joyful parts of themselves.