About Our Team at Barks and Rec
Our amazing team and their exceptional skills and love of animals.Sarah Dixon
Owner - Worked at Barks and Recreation since 2010
Director of Behaviour and Training
Sarah Dixon is a dog trainer and behavior consultant with nearly two decades of experience.
Sarah specializes in a variety of complex behavior problems, including leash reactivity, resource guarding, separation anxiety, aggression towards dogs or people, and severe fear and anxiety. She spent several years working as a full-time trainer and behavior consultant in Manhattan, which provided her invaluable experience on handling behavior issues in a condensed, chaotic urban environment.
Sarah has had articles published in industry journals and books, has presented workshops throughout North America, has several online courses.
Cameron Dixon
Owner - Worked at Barks and Recreation since 2010
Pet Portrait Painter, Retail Expert
Over 30+ years of retail experience in a range of positions allowed Cameron to utilize his knowledge towards the retail portion of our store. His passion has always been animals and art and he utilizes the skills learned from his two Fine Art Degrees to create one-of-a-kind pet painting keepsakes and offers design experience with the social media and website development.
View some of his work: www.camerondixon.com
Kaylee Borrowman
Worked at Barks and Recreation since 2015
Lead Daycare Attendant, Retail Sales
Kaylee has been fostering cats, kittens, and small animals for the BC SPCA West Kootenay Community Animal Centre since August 2013 and started volunteering there in November 2013. Kaylee is our lead daycare supervisor and is responsible for the fun photo shoots!
Ashley Main
Worked at Barks and Recreation since 2016
Certified Trainer, Customer Service
Ashley teaches our Puppy Smart Start group class and private lessons program. She is a certified trainer and is working towards being a Certified Family Dog Mediator. You can often find Ashley helping in the store and she occasionally assists with grooming as well.
Brenda Ross
Worked at Barks and Recreation since 2019
Expert Groomer
Brenda grew up in the area and has a total of 17+ years of experience in pet grooming. She works hard to make sure all the dogs and cats that come into our store are as comfortable as they can be during their stay. She works under the International Groomers Association code of ethics and is working towards her Master Groomer Certification.
Stephanie Halverson
Worked at Barks and Recreation since 2019
Retail Supervisor
Stephanie joins us with lots of retail and customer service experience. She is a critical part of our team, with her level of experience. She is responsible for a lot of the duties for the retail shop.
Emily Bromley
Worked at Barks and Recreation since 2021
Assistant Groomer, Junior Trainer, Daycare Supervisor, Customer Service
Emily comes to us with some dog training experience. She is currently working towards being a Certified Family Dog Mediator. Emily is one of our daycare supervisors and trainers for our Play and Learn program. You can also find her in the store and grooming.
Jessica Grey
Worked at Barks and Recreation since 2021
Certified Trainer, Daycare Supervisor, Customer Service
Jessica is a Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner and a Certified Family Dog Mediator. Jess teaches our Team Builders group class and private lessons as well as being one of the trainers for our Play and Learn daycare and train program.
Robyn Koch
Worked at Barks and Recreation since 2022
Assistant Groomer, Daycare Supervisor, Customer Service
Robyn is the newest member of our team. You will mostly find her helping Brenda in grooming but she also helps in daycare and the retail store.
About Barks and Recreation Pet Services
Barks & Recreation Pet Services is owned and operated by Cameron Dixon BFA’s Fine Art (Visual/New Media) and Sarah Fulcher, Cert.CBST. Sarah is a West Kootenay native and Cameron is originally from Fort St. John BC.
The pair met in Lethbridge, AB in 2003, and after finishing their Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees in New Media, was ready for a change and decided to move to Trail, BC. The move to the gorgeous area brought them closer to family, better weather, and a new relaxed lifestyle complete with a plethora of outdoor activities. Sarah and Cam had moved to BC in 2009 and they and their furry family love it here.
Their family consists of four dogs and four cats. The cats, Cedric, and Carl, Dr. Leo Spaceman, and Moira Rose enjoy a cozy indoor lifestyle. The dogs, Dexter – a Belgian shepherd, Brew – an Australian Shepard, Tina (The Fat Lard) – a Spitz mix rescue from Alabama, and Bezequille – an Australian Shepherd keep Cam and Sarah busy and active. Cam, Sarah, and the dogs enjoy a variety of activities year-round, including hiking, biking, agility, dog sledding, snowshoeing, and cross-country skiing.
Sarah is a certified dog trainer with 20+ years of experience working with rescue dogs and pets. She specializes in positive training and leadership, puppy training, basic obedience, fear and aggression issues, and “difficult” dogs. Cam is an animal lover with a wealth of knowledge gained from fostering and working with many rescue dogs with Sarah through the years.
Sarah started training dogs through traditional training methods, which are based on punishment/correction and the idea that the root of all problem behaviour is the dog attempting dominance. Everything changed when Sarah found Maui. Maui was 3 years old and had an abusive and neglected start to her life. The methods Sarah had been taught at that time, caused the sensitive and free-spirited dog to simply shut down. Enrolling in an obedience class hoping for insight sparked Sarah’s interest in clicker training and started her continuing quest to learn as much as possible about dog behaviour and positive training as possible.
The clicker training class opened a whole new world for her, as she saw her independent dog turn on, become engaged and enjoy learning, thinking and being creative. Thanks to this first class and the effect it had on her dog, Sarah is now a dedicated positive dog trainer. She has since learned that much of what she was taught is outdated and incorrect. Maui became happy and confident, trained in dog sledding, competes in dog agility and competition obedience (she has her first level title through CKC), rally obedience and recently obtained her Therapy Dog certification through St. John’s ambulance.
Cam, as a talented artist and photographer, adds an extra dimension to Barks and Recreation by providing pet photography and custom portrait painting services. With a combined total of 10 years and two Fine Arts degrees, he has fine-tuned his talents and love for all things artistic and his talent shines in everything he creates. 30+ years of retail work and management allowed Cameron to use his business skills in this venture. Together Sarah and Cam hope to provide a valuable service to pet owners in the Great Trail Area with their business.
Timely Support
Our team is busy but always ready to answer your questions and give you a helping hand. Please contact us via phone, email, social media, or come into the store.
Compassion
The staff is here because of their love for all animals. Feel confident in bringing your furry family member into our store for a fun play date in our daycare, some help with training, a nice new haircut, or for high-quality food and products.
Skill & Education
Our staff’s compassion pushes them to constantly add to their education and self-learn about all our new products and services. We like to encourage this to ensure that we are offering the best service we can and keep ahead of the competition.
Don't Be Shy. Get In Touch.
If you are interested in working together with your pet, send us an inquiry and we will get back to you as soon as we can!