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OUR TEAM

Meet The People
Behind MSK9

MSK9 wouldn’t be what it is without the people behind it. From our trainers and kennel technicians to our daycare counselors and leadership team, every person here genuinely cares about the dogs in our care.

train with msk9

Meet Our Leadership Team

Co-Owner

Kari Herron

Kari has more than 35 years of experience training dogs and their owners. She graduated from the Tom Rose School for Professional Dog Trainers with a “V” rating and later served as Training Director and Instructor. Kari has trained more than 10,000 dogs of all breeds and ages, from family pets to Police K-9s, service dogs, and therapy dogs.

We wanted to create a place where people could leave their dogs, enjoy their vacation, and know their dogs are genuinely loved and cared for while they’re away.

Key Achievements

35+

Years Of Experience

10,000+

Dogs trained

PSA

National Competior

Co-Owner

Jake Kemp

Jake has been passionate about dogs his entire life and began training professionally after attending the Tom Rose School for Professional Dog Trainers in 2008, where he graduated at the top of his class. He later worked as an instructor for the school, helping train future dog trainers and working with obedience, tracking, odor detection, and protection dogs. Jake has titled multiple dogs in AKC, PSA, and IPO, and was selected as a decoy for the PSA Nationals from 2012 to 2014.

I also wanted to do something to keep dogs out of animal shelters, out from getting euthenized.

Key Achievements

1st Place

PSA 1 Regional and National Championship 2010

AKC

Companion Dog with scores of 196, 197 and 197.5

General Manager

Mackenzie Radzik

Pictured with her Golden Retriever “Bojangles”

Born and raised in Southern California, Mackenzie comes to us from a veterinary diagnostic lab. She joined MSK9 for her love of dogs and passion in creating stronger bonds between owners and their canine companions. During her time at MSK9 she has titled Bojangles with his Canine Good Citizen and participated in numerous training classes. In her free time, she enjoys training and participating in sports with her dog such as Flyball and Dock Diving.

What it truly means to train and work with dogs is seeing the transformation and the bond between dog and owner. It’s about bridging the communication so they understand what we want as handlers and owners.

Key Achievements

3x Dock Diving Champion

DockDogs World Championship Invitee (2024-2026)

Flyball Champion

FDch Flyball Champion With Multiple Titles

Training Director

Gator Schott

Having grown up in Ravenna Nebraska, Gator has always had a passion for dogs, spending a lot of his time hunting with Labradors and Weimaraners before making his move to Colorado in 2014. Gator joined the MSK9 team in January of 2020 and completed the MSK9 Apprentice Trainer Program after some brief time as Operations Manager. He has a Labrador Retriever named Rowe and together they have successfully achieved an AKC Jr. Hunt Title. In January of 2021 he expanded his pack when he rescued his Doberman, Ronald. Gator and Ronald have worked diligently and titled in protection with a PSA PDC in 2023.

I got started here at MSK9 as a client to start. I went through all my private lessons, the board and train, went through our group classes, and I just fell in love with the process.

Key Achievements

AKC

Canine Good Citizen Evaluator

MSK9

Apprentice Program Graduate

Meet Our Trainers

Trainer

Dylan Near

Pictured with his working Labrador Retriever, Suede. Dylan has had a passion for studying dogs’ behavior and finding the best ways to communicate with them from a very young age. In addition to the basic childhood chores, he was also responsible for training his family dogs, an Akita and a Cattle Dog mix rescued from the local shelter. In 2020, he rescued Kodi, a Pitbull mix with human and dog reactivity. Working with Kodi was a challenge that blossomed into a passion for finding ways to provide even the most stubborn and aggressive dogs the freedom and structure they need for a fulfilled and happy life. Today, Dylan has successfully titled Kodi with his Canine Good Citizen. While continuing his education at MSK9, Dylan aspires to earn hunt titles with his black lab, Suede, along with obedience, trick, and other sport titles.

Key Achievements

AKC

Caning Good Citizen Evaluator

Trick

Title Intermediate - Suede 2025

Trainer

Patrick Ostrander

Patrick has always had a passion for dogs. Growing up in Waco, Texas, he volunteered at a local shelter but never knew there was opportunity to turn his passion into a career. After high school, he served for four years as an Army Medic and went on to earn his Bachelor’s degree in kinesiology from Texas State University. After a move to Colorado in 2019, his eagerness to work with dogs led him to MSK9. While working as a kennel technician, he completed Top Tier K9’s Pet Dog Trainer Class. The skills learned in this course helped him tremendously as he entered MSK9’s Apprentice Trainer Program, becoming a full-time trainer in 2022. He loves learning alongside his rescue cattle dog, Ahsoka, in multiple disciplines such as agility, trick, and hunt-style retrieve. He is grateful to be fulfilling his passion by creating better relationships between owners and their dogs through training.

Key Achievements

Top Tier K9

Pet Dog Training Certification

Trick

Title Advanced - Ahsoka 2023

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