Laurie Riley, D.C. -Founder/Owner -Puppy Raiser
Laurie is the owner of Heavenly Sunsets Golden Retrievers
Dr. Laurie Riley has been a breeder almost her entire life, since 1972. Her family bred Dalmatians for a very long time before Laurie and her husband, Kurtis, fell in love with Golden Retrievers. They wanted the perfect family dog and they found it. The Riley family has been breeding Goldens since 2011.
Laurie is passionate about rearing puppies using many experiences of sounds, textures, surfaces, smells and novel items to give them the best chance at being a confident and happy dog. We love raising puppies right in our home in an environment that gives them the best head-start in life. Dr Riley is always researching the best ways to raise puppies and honor their individual personalities. She is dedicated to finding the right breeding lines for temperament and health to create a wonderful puppy for you.
Laurie is also a Chiropractor of humans when she is not busy raising puppies, at a dog class, riding off road motorcycles or hiking.
Why breed for service? Dr Riley’s son, Brennan, had Osteosarcoma in his leg that had to be amputated at age 13. Brennan picked out Barrett to be his service dog. Unfortunately, Barrett was a service dog for Brennan for only the first 4 months of his life when Brennan passed away. It is a passion for Laurie to help produce quality puppies for service, therapy and companions to honor Brennan’s love for Goldens.
Beth Medders, BSN, RN Emergency - Nurse -Puppy Raiser
Beth has helped whelp, raise and train several Heavenly litters
Beth is passionate about raising sweet, balanced, loving Golden Retrievers. She knows the importance that they are raised with training starting on day one. Beth has raised dogs most of her life. She was always the one taking in older dogs, dogs that had problems with aggression, scarred or bound for a shelter. She was determined to give them all a loving and safe home through the end of their lives. One year she had seven dogs that passed away from old age and it was so heartbreaking. After that she got Willow as a guardian puppy and that was Beth’s resetting point. She is so grateful for the partnership with Laurie, Cathy and Kathleen. Her dog world had just opened up with new possibilities for service dog training, AKC titles and rethinking new or different training methods.
Cathy Gormley - Professional Dog Trainer
Cathy teaches all of our complementary Puppy Obedience and Socialization classes for our litters and offers help and advice for the life of every Heavenly puppy.
Cathy graduated from AzDog Smart Academy specializing in both Puppy & Service Dog training. Cathy is an approved trainer with the AKC, as well as an AKC CGC evaluator and a Fetch & ATT Judge. As a member of the Association of Professional Dog Trainers & International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants, Cathy uses only positive training techniques and routinely takes continuing educational classes. Cathy has owned and adored Goldens for over 38 years and is a Golden breed specialist trainer who understands the traits and targeted training techniques that best suit this beautiful and versatile dog.
Kathleen Hall -Puppy Assistant -Boards Dogs -Dog Walker -Dog Groomer
Kathleen has spent her entire life helping both people & animals. She has had several long-term caretaker positions for elderly & chronically-ill patients treating each person with dignity and love. Her passion for animals was evident at an early age, where she volunteered at a shelter for years, which eventually lead her to a career in dog grooming, dog walking and more recently opening her home to Daycare & Boarding. Kathleen also worked for UPS for over a decade and brings her cheery smile, fabulous people-skills and great work ethic to every task she undertakes. As a Heavenly Sunsets crew member, Kathleen has been helping care for the puppies from birth to 8 weeks doing whatever is needed and is more recently learning the ropes to assist with whelping & neo-natal care. As a frequent assistant in the puppy classes, Kathleen brings her training experience, warm humor and charm that always brings smiles & laughter to the class.
Kathleen and Peaches, her Heavenly Sunsets Golden, have recently graduated from a two-year Service Dog program successfully navigating all the coursework, the higher levels of obedience, task training, and public access work to become a fully-vested Service Dog team! And if that’s not enough, Kathleen is also a fantastic photographer and takes all of our wonderful graduation & class photos!
Her dedication and love for all things dogs is undeniable!