Debby Kay grew up on a dairy farm in an animal loving family. She has spent a lifetime working with animals in many capacities. Her early career started as a chemist with Hoffman LaRoche and moved on to geochemical exploration with the US Geological Survey. During her free time, she and her dogs worked as a special deputy with many local police departments to do cadaver searches, evidence recovery, drug detection and explosive detection. Her mantrailing Bloodhounds have successfully tracked many criminals.

She was one of the early trainers of search and rescue dogs in North America and, as an outgrowth of her volunteer work, eventually left the government to become the training director of International Detector Dogs Ltd. In this capacity, she trained the first toxic waste detection dog, and was an early pioneer of using dogs to help ecologists, geologists and field biologists find targeted specimens for their research.

She has taught classes for dog professionals and amateurs alike all over the world. As a contractor, Debby trained some of the first

classes of dogs and instructors for the fledgling ATF explosive dog program in Front Royal, Virginia.

She has been breeding dogs under the Chilbrook prefix since 1969, including Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers, German Shepherds, Belgium Malinois, Belgium Sheepdogs, Australian Shepherds, Border Collies, German Shorthair Pointers, English Cocker Spaniels, Bloodhounds, Bluetick Coonhounds, Foxhounds, Beagles, and Chihuahuas. Dogs from her program have earned over 90 titles in the field, show and obedience rings. In addition, hundreds of her dogs work as service dogs for the blind and physically disabled, seizure alert dogs, and assistance dogs for the autistic. They also serve as working members of police, security and search and rescue organizations around the world.

She is the author of the Labrador Breeder’s Handbook, and conducts seminars nationally on Labrador Retrievers, nutrition and herbal supplements for animals, as well as teaching her unique dynamic living concepts on human/animal partners. She is a certified Reiki master instructor.