Chicago dog trainer in the news.

Curtis has been actively collaborating with rescue dog advocates throughout Illinois and Indiana -- in the prison system, judicial court systems and local shelters to help dogs in need on a broader scale.

His overwhelming passion for the bully breed is one that keeps him in the news. To combat all the negative press about pit bulls and other dominant dog breeds, Curtis is on a mission to educate people about these sensitive, smart and loving dogs and help them find wonderful, lifelong homes.

- In conjunction with Cease Fire, Curtis has developed humane education programs for impact troubled, inner city youth to ultimately eliminate the cruel practice of dog fighting.

- He is a guest speaker on Northwest Indiana's Cable TV show "dog knowledge" where he offers training advice and behavioral information to a large viewing audience of animal lovers.

- Curtis has been instrumental in the expansion of a unique program that matches up juvenile criminals with homeless dogs. The goal is to provide a chance for inmates to learn discipline, patience and compassion by training the dogs while these hard luck dogs get a second chance at eventually finding new homes - a chance they wouldn't have gotten otherwise. In 2007, the Lake County Sheriff's Office awarded Curtis their "Animal's Best Friend" distinction 'for his undying dedication to training and saving the lives of animals that would otherwise be unsavable.'

Meet Stoney - Super Underdog

Stoney was found on a hot July day. In a hurry, I was driving fast and took a shortcut in an unfamiliar area. Something caught my eye on the side of the road. I slowed and saw it was a pit bull lying down. I called him and he slowly came over to me. I saw that his ears had been completely stripped of fur and flesh, and he was covered in flies and bloody sores and was skin and bones.

He wagged his tail and was happy to get attention. Poor dog crawled in my car, curled up on my floor and went right to sleep. I took care of him for several days and then found a shelter to take him. After a few months, his untrained and unspent energy was getting out of control and the shelter deemed him 'aggressive' and slated him for euthanasia.

I was desperate for an alternative for him and thats when I found out about Curtis. Curtis told me without a second thought that he would take on “Stoney.” He extensively evaluated his temperament and agreed that not only was Stoney not aggressive, but he was an exceptional dog.

Curtis took Stoney home with him that day. He immediately began a comprehensive program to help make him more adoptable. He stayed at Curtis’ home and using a combination of training methods, Curtis taught him how to behave with all sorts of dogs -- big, little, high energy, low energy. Curtis exercised him so that Stoney could release that pent up energy, took him for walks so that he could become better socialized with people and dogs. He found that Stoney was a very quickly learner and incredibly smart and obedient. After a relatively short period of time, Curtis knew that Stoney would be a great therapy dog. Curtis has since trained him for this purpose and today he takes him to clients and nursing homes where Stoney serves as an example of a model canine.

Read more:

Midwest Rescue of Illinois Newsletter (April, 2008): Curtis helps agression train animal for adoption (.pdf)

NW Indiana Times (December 11, 2007): Animal advocates lukewarm on Vick's sentence (.pdf)

NW Indiana Times (November 25, 2007): Pit bulls pay for publicity (.pdf)

NW Indiana Times (August 4, 2007): Some of seized pit bulls might be adoptable (.pdf)

Editorial, NW Indiana (March 15, 2007): It's good to see those pit bulls rehabilitated (.pdf)

NW Indiana Post-Tribune (March 10, 2007): Behavior Counselor Works with Dogs (.pdf)

NW Indiana Times (March 10, 2007): Doggie Counselor Works with Pit Bulls (.pdf)

- He works with the Mixed Up Mutts' Prison Tails program at the Westville Correctional Facility. Here he works with adult prisoners to help them learn dog training skills that will not only increase their self confidence and sense of accomplishment, but it once again gives these dogs a new chance at life.

- Curtis was featured for an article in the Chicago Tribune in September 2007.