an was originally from Rockford, Illinois and migrated one wintery day in 1980 to Bradenton, Florida for a brief vacation and decided to stayed. He has been married to the same wonderful person, Linda, for 33 years and they have 2 adult girls. Growing up and currently, dogs have always been a part of his life; from the Great Danes his parents bred and showed, or various shelter dogs he had as pets to his current pack of four, there has always been a dog in his household.
Dan got his start in agility during 2004 when his youngest daughter, Leah, got a Sheltie for her 10th birthday and she started taking classes with Diego. Soon, Dan got his own Sheltie, Zoey and began his current career in dog agility.
n his time doing agility, Dan has put 10 MACH’s on 3 different dogs, as well as made the AKC National finals with these same 3 dogs at different times (2011,2013,2015-2017), with a 5th in 2011 (Diego – 16”) and 4th in 2015 (Stella – 26”). He has also been to multiple AKC World Team tryouts, and though he had a really good time, he managed to goof up each time. While he does spend the most of his time competing in AKC, he does also enjoy doing USDAA and UKI events when he can fit it into his schedule.
Dan became an AKC Agility judge in May of 2016 and has enjoyed the opportunity it has given him to travel around and see handlers and their dogs in many different parts of the country. His biggest joy while judging is watching the dogs and handlers that have the most fun together!
Currently, Dan has 4 dogs; Zoey (14), Stella (10), Piraat (7) and Kona (2). Zoey is retired, but the other 3 actively compete and have great fun playing the game!!