We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kymee Bair. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kymee below.
Kymee, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?
The Houston Humane Society is dedicated to and working towards ending cruelty, abuse, and the overpopulation of animals while providing the highest quality of life to those brought to us for care. As the Behavior and Enrichment Coordinator it is my responsibility to ensure all animals in our care are mentally and physical healthy while they await for their forever family! Not only do I handle owner surrenders and strays, but a large part of my job is helping to rehabilitate animals we get in from cruelty cases, mostly dogs. Most of these dogs have been deprived of human interaction, interaction with conspecifics, and basic necessities such as food/water/shelter/ proper vet care. My job is to help them learn how to trust again so they can learn what it is like to be loved and cared for by people who wish them no harm. Watching the transformation is truly humbling and is even better when they finally get adopted and get to thrive in a loving home!
Kymee, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
All my life I have had a passion for animals. I always knew I wanted a career in the animal field and had a huge passion for wild animals, specifically tigers! I ended up graduating from Friends University in 2016 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Zoo Science. From there I worked in multiple zoos with species ranging from small lizards to elephants! As I traveled across the country to work in zoos along with my husband, I decided to leave the field and go into dog training. I worked for PetSuites of America as a basic obedience dog trainer and from there my passion for dogs grew. I become a Certified Professional Dog Trainer-Knowledge Assessed (CPDT-KA) through the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers in 2021. While I was at PetSuites I started a partnership with the Houston Humane Society where I would train their long stay dogs (dogs that have been in the shelter multiple months) to help teach them basic skills to help them get adopted. This is where I started falling in love with the shelter life. How rewarding it is to watch a shelter dog develop basic skills and get adopted? Once I found out the Houston Humane Society was hiring a behaviorist, I applied and now here I am helping the dogs in the Houston area find their forever homes!
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
I have been graced with having the best mentors around. They have helped me become the dog trainer/behaviorist that I am today. Being a dog behaviorist in a shelter is not an easy job, nor is it a very popular job. I have been able to make connections to other shelters both in the state of Texas and out of state to share ideas and methods in order to help my animals be successful.
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
I have so many books, webinars. and studies I have read overtime to help me through my career. It is so hard to pick just one that has significantly impacted how I do my job. But, if I had to choose just one resource it would 100% be the ASPCA. They do astronomical work and have a ton of free resources on all kinds of topics! From studies on cruelty cases to their AMAZING behavior rehabilitation center (that I hope I get to visit some day) there is never a shortage on information to help me through situations I haven’t experienced yet or have little experience on dealing with.
Contact Info:
- Other: To learn more about The Houston Humane Society and their mission, please visit their website at https://www.houstonhumane.org/
Image Credits
Houston Humane Society