Leslie Karnowski

James Zarubin takes paws.

Training dogs is no K9-5 job. “Dog owners have a 24-hour responsibility,” says James. “Dogs are like children and are not convinced you care enough if there aren’t rules.” The local Dog Whisperer (or Dog Listener as he prefers to be called) trained briefly with National Geographic Channel’s Dog Whisperer star, Cesar Millan. “His words made the most sense to me. Use body language and be a calm leader.” James describes. He says growing up he had strong communication with animals. That’s why he became the official “groomer for troubled dogs” during his kennel days. Now he’s testing his skills on his 8-month-old German Shephard, Link - named as the “link” between James and his previous German Shephard, Timber, who he says was an incredible teacher. “Animals share their energy with me, and I share mine with them. That creates our story.”