Andrea and Gabby (8/10/01- 1/7/12)
Founder And Owner
Andrea Bauer
In late summer of 2002, Andrea decided to attend Patriot K-9 Training Academy under the guidance of Master Dog Trainer Brian Bailey. Andrea attended the classes and gained education, experience, guidance, and confidence in becoming a dog obedience trainer. The wealth of knowledge and guidance Andrea gained helped her develop her own style and solid foundation for starting her own business in November 2002.
Dog training is Andrea’s passion and the foundation of A-1 K-9. In order to be more diversified and have more time to spend with her favorite animals, Andrea decided to broaden her business offering and become a dog groomer as well. In the early summer of 2008, Andrea chose to study dog grooming under the guidance of friend, mentor, and Master Dog Groomer, Kim Wampler.
Andrea gained experience and confidence in grooming many different breeds and learning how to meet the clients’ needs and expectations. Andrea used her time with Kim to build the foundation for the skills and techniques to make her a groomer with high expectations for her finished four-legged friends.
How it Began
A-1 K-9 was started in 2001 purely by accident and through many numerous request from people in the small rural community.
Andrea Bauer, owner, founded the business after obsessively training her first Rottweiler puppy, Gabby. Andrea enjoyed working with and training Gabby with the intention of making her a fun, enjoyable, and well behaved family pet. The pleasure Andrea found in training her dog became an obsession and she decided to train her dog to AKC competition level.
Throughout the training, Andrea found it beneficial to take Gabby to community events and places for socialization and distraction training. People in the community saw how well behaved and how much pleasure Andrea was able to have with her dog attending events with her. People in the small community began asking Andrea for advice and help in training their own dogs to the level Gabby was at.
Meet the Team!
Co-Founder/Owner
Tim Bauer
Tim Bauer
Tim has supported Andrea since the very beginning. He used his knowledge of CAD in order to design and layout the new facility that was built in 2008.
Tim holds a Master’s Degree in Organizational Leadership from Saint Mary-of-the-Woods and uses his knowledge to help with business operations, Tim’s role include: purchasing, accounting, record keeping, grounds and facilities maintenance, agility equipment maintenance, dog socialization, and many other duties as required.
In his spare time, Tim is a SCUBA Instructor and loves to be in or around the water as much as possible.
Shop Manager
Weigo
Pronounced “ we go” is the dog we always needed, but never planned to own. Weigo is a 7 lb pocket Goldendoodle.
He is a vital part of A-1 K-9. He has many responsibilities such as head of security, puppy babysitter, entry alert, chicken wrangler, and most importantly people greeter.
In his opinion, it is the responsibility of every idle set of hands to hold him. Weigo also became famous by playing “Toto” in the LHS production of The Wizard of Oz
Weigo
Groomers
Ashley Bowles
Ashley is a 2015 graduate of Crawford County High School.
Ashley began working for A-1 K-9 in November 2021. She is a full-time groomer and is meeting the expectations of A-1 K-9. Ashley helps with puppy training, socialization and plans to become an important part of the training program in the future.
In her spare time, Ashley enjoys taking her dog to the park, SCUBA diving, and traveling with family and friends.
Ashley Bowles
Alexis Bauer
Alexis Bauer
Alexis has grown up with A-1 K-9. She has been with dogs her entire life, whether a family pet or client in training. Alexis has competed with her own dogs in obedience and agility. She has been successful in training her Yorkshire Terrier and her Rottweiler to become great obedience dogs as well wonderful family pets.