Denise was born and raised in Westampton, New Jersey, which is a suburb of Philadelphia, and has spent her entire life around dogs. She and her family rescued basset hounds and volunteered with the local basset rescue there. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Ursinus College, Denise pursued a federal law enforcement career with the United States Secret Service. This is where she met and worked with OLK9 founder and owner, Nick White.

When she wasn’t spending countless hours on the Surveillance Team at the White House, Denise could often be found dog-sitting for one or more of her co-workers. Because of the long hours she worked and her living arrangements, Denise was unable to have a dog of her own, so she would take on the temporary role of dog-sitting for her co-workers when they would be called on work trips or vacations. From chihuahuas to English mastiffs, Denise was the go-to Mary Poppins amongst her peers.

After Denise left the Secret Service, she moved to Phoenix, where she continued her career in the security field for another 6 years, both in the private sector and for the state. Knowing it was something she was good at but tired of the same old routine, Denise realized she wanted to finally pursue her dream and work with dogs. Denise is excited to bring the same training techniques used by military and law enforcement to the Valley of the Sun, in order to achieve precise and flawless obedience to household dogs, 100% off-leash.

When Denise is not training dogs, she enjoys spending time with her rescues; Penny, Siggy, Ari, and Pearl! She also enjoys photography, baseball, storm chasing, and is a certified canine nutritionist!