Our TEAM

Katrina Boldry is the owner and designer of Bold Lead Designs, a small business that makes leather dog leashes, collars and harnesses in Aurora, Colorado. Katrina specializes in equipment for service dogs and loves finding accessible solutions for dog gear dilemmas. Bold Leads exists to fill the gap between off-the-shelf dog equipment and what people really need out of their gear. Katrina has worked with thousands of service dog clients all over the world including many assistance dog training organizations, private professional trainers, and individual service dog handlers since 2008. She is also partnered with an owner-trained mobility dog that is trained to provide stability and assist with neurological and connective-tissue related health conditions.

Katrina grew up in a family where disability is normalized, where finding adaptations and alternative ways to function in the world, and accepting people as they are, is simply a part of life. Katrina has lived with chronic health issues for most of her life (connective tissue, neurology, and mental health), and began learning to train her own dogs for mobility assistance work around 2016. Initially underestimating the emotional and mental-health impact that working with a service dog would have on her, she now acknowledges the full range of unique benefits and challenges of being partnered with a service dog.

While searching for a replacement to the guide dog leash she received as a teenager, when raising a puppy for Guide Dogs for the Blind, she could not find anything of suitable quality and design.  Katrina then found leather and tools to create her own perfect dog leash. This led her to startup a small business in 2008, offering handcrafted dog gear that filled the gap between what serious dog handlers needed, and what was otherwise available in pet supply shops. While volunteering at local service dog organizations, she observed dogs and clients struggling with their leashes and harnesses.  She was asked to solve some of those problems and she developed leash systems specifically designed for people (with low dexterity or quadriplegia) in wheelchairs so that they could safely handle their own service dog without the leash getting caught in the wheels. Freedom Service Dogs (FSD) asked if she would take a look at the balance assistance harnesses that help people with mobility support and develop a new design. The people struggled with the buckles and uncomfortable handles, and the dogs seemed uncomfortable and shied away from the harnesses they were asked to wear. FSD connected her to orthopedic surgery veterinarians and canine rehab specialists to discuss where harnesses should and should not apply pressure to the dog’s body, and thus she designed the Mobility Support Harness from the ground up. She was invited to debut the harness at an Assistance Dogs International Trainers Conference, and it was very well received not only for it’s stable, comfortable design, but also because of its ease of use.

Katrina has consulted with some of the top working dog veterinarians in the country as she sought out research on how dog equipment impacts dogs, has applied research findings to her product design, and continues to evolve her designs as new information becomes available. From the beginning she has incorporated client feedback, professional dog trainer suggestions, and the needs of the service dog community in general to create user-friendly, biomechanically correct equipment that works. Katrina has written extensively in product sales information and product owner’s manuals to provide reasonable guidelines including dog size, age, training suggestions, and the correct way to fit and use the equipment. The material is not specific to her products and can be applied more widely to mobility dog training and equipment in general.

Through her professional connections, Katrina has collected many of the resources and information that are presented on this website. Information on mobility dogs has been scant, leading Katrina to search for any resources that exist within other canine disciplines, that can be borrowed from, to inform the service dog world.

Katrina was a part of the early development of the Atlas Assistance Dogs client program, is one of the first graduates of the Team Facilitator workshop and has served on the board of directors from 2018-2020. She advises Atlas on dog health, mobility assistance, and equipment matters.

It is amazing how animals enrich their people’s lives, especially assistance animals. The partnership between working dogs and their humans is one of the strongest there is. She was drawn to the mission of MDRG because it benefits both people and the dogs who enrich their lives by helping to ensure a long, healthy partnership.

Anjanette is an Alabama native that prides herself in saying “Roll Tide” who is now transplanted in West Virginia.  She is the co-founder and executive director of Thin Line Service Dogs, Inc. (TLSD).  Anjanette and her husband Wayne founded TLSD a 501(c)(3) nonprofit who provides service dogs to disabled first responders and veterans at no cost.  

She is also a golden retriever breeder, Gold Mountain Kennel.  They are the exclusive breeders for TLSD.  Why is this so important?  A sound solid dog begins with the pedigree and selection of sire and dam who will exhibit the attributes for a service dog prospect, all the while adhering to breed standard is the utmost importance.  Being able to make selected pairing and starting the pup off in the whelping box by providing early neurological stimulation, early scent introduction and desensitization of various sights, sounds, surfaces, places, etc. is key in the success of the pup. As a person who experiences the vital role a service dog plays in the life of a disabled person and has her own service dog, Moose, it’s my mission to provide the same to deserving American Heroes.  

Prior to her injuries, Anjanette spent over 20 years in Human Resources.  Now her time is focused on providing service dogs that support the PTSD and mobility of a disabled American Hero. 

This group is vital not only to the dog, but to the handler, also.  Without the recommended guidelines of ensuring a dog is properly fit for mobility work, can cause a short working life and permanent damage to the dog.  I am proud and honored to be amongst the best in the business and would love nothing more than to see every dog slated for mobility out there working knowing they adhered to the mobility working dog recommendations

Susan Napier has been a professional musician and teacher for 30 years. Her passion is seeing people learn new skills and gain independence. Her life took a drastic turn about 14 years ago when the progression of her medical condition placed her on permanent disability and more recently in a wheelchair. This led to her volunteering to raise and train service dogs. Over the past decade, she found her disability has given her the ability to help clients and their dogs form successful working teams.

Susan is currently the Director of Client Support and a founding member of Do Unto Others (D.U.O.) Assistance Dogs’ executive team where they create teams that are stronger together. Our goal is to train our pups and people with integrity and transparency while providing the support they need to achieve their independence. She is passionate about insuring the working dogs they place are medically and structurally sound.  D.U.O.’s mission is to provide exceptionally trained dogs that are well prepared from the top of the leash to the tip of their canine partner’s nose!

She is excited to be a part of Mobility Dog Resource Group and looks forward to working alongside others to improve all testing standards, especially mobility guidelines, to achieve a gold standard for working dogs.

Molly Neher is the Director of Operations and Programs for Atlas Assistance Dogs, a nonprofit organization that fundamentally expands access to assistance dogs by supporting people with disabilities to train their own dog as a service dog. Molly works both behind the scenes, developing and managing Atlas’ programs, and also works hands-on with Atlas’ clients, helping them as they train their service dog.

As a service dog handler herself, Molly has seen first-hand the benefits and the empowerment a service dog can bring, and it is her strong belief that people do not thrive despite their disabilities, but rather with them. She is passionate about educating about disability and service dogs, and about helping more people gain independence with a service dog at their side.

In joining Mobility Dog Resource Group, Molly is excited to be part of a collaborative group, working to improve the well-being of working teams through education, and improved guidelines in the industry.

Shelly and her husband, Miami, have lived all over – spending 11 years on sailboats, owning a horse farm for 10, traveling in a 5th wheel and now homesteading in GA. During their travels, they raised, and home schooled two boys.

In 2010 Shelly volunteered with a service dog organization and trained her own dog, Goose, to be a medical alert dog. Goose traveled from Washington, DC to the Florida Keys for four years, bringing awareness about PTS, TBI and other psychiatric disorders. The more talks Goose and Shelly did the more she realized how great the need was for qualified assistance dogs.

Shelly joined Atlas Assistance Dogs in 2018 in hopes of making a huge impact in the lives of individuals with disabilities who want to train and certify their own dogs. She now works with different types of disabilities including mobility. Helping clients understand the importance of keeping a mobility dog safe, sound, and healthy is a priority for her training.

Dogs have been an integral part of Jane’s life since she was 8 years old, when she finally convinced her Mom to allow her to have one (after bringing home every school library book about dogs and deciding she wanted a beagle, because of Snoopy!) True dog training experience didn’t really begin until she was a young mother and had just lost her first golden retriever to cancer. Her youngest son wanted another dog, but she wasn’t quite ready for another family dog. 

The 4-H Seeing Eye puppy raising program was the perfect answer to have a dog for about a year before the pup returned for guide dog training. They ended up raising 7 Seeing Eye puppies, socializing them and teaching them basic obedience, over the next 7 years. Following the Seeing Eye pups, Jane learned the benefits of positive reinforcement training and attended many classes led by the legendary Ali Brown. During that time she also became a therapy dog team with one of her goldens. To this date, she continues therapy dog visits through KPETS with 2 of her goldens.

While Jane loved raising the Seeing Eye pups, she always wanted to train service dog tasks. She ended up having the opportunity to raise and train a mobility assistance dog for a small service dog organization. She also helped at training classes and with litter care for that organization, among other things while volunteering for them for about 5 years. 

Jane has been a Team Facilitator for Atlas Assistance Dogs for several years and also an Atlas Certified Trainer. She recently bred one of her goldens, then whelped and cared for the litter of golden pups, and donated three to veterans assistance dog organizations.  

Jane has worked in the medical field the last 20 years of her professional life, the last 10 years at 3M Health Information Systems (now Solventum) writing rules for computer assisted coding. Her time in the medical field has contributed to her belief that our health is our greatest asset.  In as much she believes that the health and well-being of the canine partner is critical in a long successful assistance dog partnership.

Denise has been a dog trainer for several years and has a passion to help those in need. She is a retired veteran and received her B.S. in Psychology from Penn State in 2015. 

Denise has worked with dogs and animal shelters since a very young age. Although she had worked with dogs for years, it wasn’t until working on her Bachelors in Psychology did she realize a true connection between good mental health and canines.

Denise has studied and has training experience in Basic and Advanced Obedience, Behavior Modification, Agility, Trick, and Service task training. She is a member of the International Association of Canine Professionals (IACP), a Therapy Pets Unlimited evaluator, and an AKC Canine Good Citizen evaluator.

In 2019 she established Firefly Farm Kennels, LLC to start breeding and training service dog prospects, as an important first step in getting people the assistance they need.  Denise also helps people to get through the Therapy Dog process in her local area.

Major (retired) Chuck Ziegenfuss served in the Army from 1991-2015.  Seriously wounded in Iraq in 2005, he helped create Project VALOur-IT with Soldiers Angels, to help service members with severe hand and eye trauma obtain and use voice-activated laptops.

Chuck started using a self-trained Service Dog, Major, in 2007.  Major was at Chuck’s side throughout the long road to recovery from his injuries.  Major died in 2012 while Chuck was deployed. Chuck realized just how much of a hole in his life Major left, and sought a new SD.  Every program he approached had a very long (sometimes years-long) waiting list, so he decided to again raise and train his own service dog.  This resulted in Halia, his service dog for the next decade.

Remembering his struggle to find a service dog, founded Hero Labradors: a nonprofit with the mission to develop breeding lines that would produce excellent candidates for service dogs, and donate these puppies to training programs, so those in need do not face years of waiting for help.  Halia started as his foundation Dam for his breeding lines, and is the model he uses in selecting his Dams today.  Her Aptitude, Intelligence, Demeanor, Empathy, and Size (AIDES) are the true foundation of Hero Labradors and our goal.  Halia’s first litter produced Hero Labradors’ Polar Bear, our primary stud dog, who has sired 17 litters at Hero Labradors and is responsible for 111 of the 183 puppies produced by Hero Labradors.  Of the 183 puppies donated to service dog programs, Hero Labradors has seen an astonishing 96% success rate in training and graduation to become service dogs.

In 2023, recognizing an opportunity for repurposing the dogs who don’t have all the “right stuff” to be individual service dogs, Chuck assisted in the founding of The Hero Academy, which trains service dogs for Veterans, First Responders, and their Family Members, as well as re-trains service dog “wash outs” to become facility, therapy, and community outreach dogs for schools, hospitals, and first responder departments.

Chuck continues to breed, whelp, and raise these incredible puppies, and personally delivers them to the many partner programs Hero Labradors works with, including (but not limited to) The Hero Academy, Dog Tag Buddies, K9s For Warriors, Smoky Mountain Service Dogs, Retrieving Freedom, Clear Path for Veterans, Tails of Hope, V2V service dogs, Patriot Service Dogs, IOWA service dogs, and Healing Paws for Warriors.  These programs owe him nothing for these puppies, except that the recipient is a veteran, first responder, or family member and receives the trained service dog free of charge.

 Chuck is married to the former Ms. Carren Benson of Franklin, PA, and loves her more today than yesterday.  He is also the father of two, Creighton (24) and Adelle (21). His family is instrumental in the success of Hero Labradors and it would not have been possible without them.