Stephanie Ruggerone came to ACC in September 2000. She has an extensive background in many facets of animal care including behavior, training, grooming, and pet assisted therapy. Following studies in animal science and agriculture at the University of Arizona, she settled in San Luis Obispo County in 1980 after growing up in Whittier, CA. She has raised and trained Golden Retrievers under the Autumngale Obedience kennel name. After training two dogs for the county humane education program, she became an animal control officer, then quickly promoted to the position of Animal Services Director. She was thrilled and honored to be invited to be a part of the Animal Care Clinic team where the emphasis is on quality animal care and client education. Stephanie and her husband have two children attending college and share their home with a true barnyard of animals. Currently, there is 1 cat, 4 dogs, 1 goat, 2 horses, 1 emu, 1 bird, and whatever shows up on the property. Her personal passion is a commitment to assist in providing guide dogs for the sight impaired. Her family has devoted many years to guide dog puppy raising, having raised 13 puppies for guide dogs. Aside from ACC and puppies, Stephanie loves to read, and all things outdoors especially hiking in Yosemite and endurance horseback riding. She has a passion for dog behavior and hopes to accomplish search and rescue training on one of her dogs and become a certified Search and Rescue team with FEMA [citation].