Dog Trainer Bio

Suzanne Veta, CPDT-KA

A yellow Labrador sits next to Suzanne Veta, who is seated on the ground. They both smile for the camera on a sunny summer day.

Hi, I’m Suzanne! I am a former diplomat and lawyer, now a certified professional dog trainer (CPDT-KA) with a passion for improving the lives of dogs and the people who love them. I first got into dog training when I started fostering dogs who would otherwise have been euthanized in shelters for lack of space. Many of them had behavioral issues that made them difficult to adopt, so I started reading and learning everything I could about how to help them.

A light-skinned woman with long grey hair holds two yellow Labrador puppies in her arms while standing in a parking lot. They all look toward the camera.

After several years of fostering and successfully rehabilitating shelter dogs, I left my law practice to work for an organization that taught incarcerated individuals to train service dogs for people with disabilities, and my professional dog training career began.

Now I help people live their best lives with their dogs, whether the dog is a beloved pet who pulls on the leash and eats shoes, or a service dog candidate who needs to be trained to the highest standards for public access.

When I’m not training dogs, I love to spend time at the beach, garden, raise chickens, and engage in a whole bunch of fascinating hobbies, including building miniatures and restoring antique sewing machines. I have a terrific husband and three grown sons, who all test my nerves daily by doing things like climbing mountains, riding motorcycles, and flying airplanes. My husband and I are both officers in the Civil Air Patrol and are members of both ground and air Search and Rescue teams. If you get lost in the wilderness in Southern California, we are likely to come looking for you!

A light-skinned woman in a civil air patrol uniform speaks while holding a puppy with a wrinkly face and floppy ears on her lap