About Us

Hello! I’m Carmen, founder of Love At First Sit®, established in 2011!

I am a native of Berkeley, California, and an alumnus of the University of California, Berkeley. Seeking to volunteer, I endeavored into helping animals at the Santa Monica Animal Shelter. Ultimately, my devotion to animal advocacy, love for my animal family members, and my work as a volunteer, enabled me to see that there was a need for not only loving, trustworthy and reliable pet care and dog behavior and training, but effective pet services by qualified professionals that are educated and skilled in working with animals of all ages, sizes, breeds, and those with behavior, medical, and other unique requirements. Love At First Sit® strives to meet all of these needs!

In this same way, I believe that real animal advocacy begins in the home. Love At First Sit® promotes animal advocacy and welfare by providing pet owners with resources and insight that facilitates pet wellness, enrichment, education, and responsible pet ownership. All of which encourages and reinforces the protection and bond between pet owners and their pets. This helps pets to thrive with their humans, furthering the prevention of animals from being relinquished to animal shelters due to pet owners not having the support, ways, and means to keep them.

In conjunction with my work in caring for pets, a certified dog behaviorist and trainer with honors distinction from Animal Behavior College, an American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen Evaluator, and with over 5,000+ volunteer hours and a Graduate of Fear Free Shelters program, I continue to volunteer with animal shelters and rescues. This includes the Santa Monica Animal Shelter, and EZ Heart and Soul Rescue and Sanctuary. My contribution includes and is not limited to, providing care, dog behavior and training, and rehabilitation to animals of all ages, temperament needs, as well as promotion and publicity to help place them into appropriate and loving homes. I am also former Chairman of the Board of the Santa Monica Animal Shelter Foundation.  A nonprofit 501c3 organization whos mission is to create resources for the Santa Monica Animal Shelter.

To outreach to the community, I am an authorized mentor trainer for Animal Behavior College, a frequent news guest in the area of pet expertise for media outlets including KCRW’s Press Play with Madeleine Brand, Santa Monica Mirror (also featured in YO! Venice, Brentwood News, Century City/Westwood News, Westside Today, and Palisades News), and a guest contributor and guest columnist for the Santa Monica Daily Press; my ongoing column Pet of the Week features adoptable pets from the Santa Monica Animal Shelter and pet tips.

With a mission to further the causes that advocate for animals and people, I founded the Love At First Sit® Initiative. An initiative to aid in preventing animals from being relinquished to animal shelters, support the rescue, rehabilitation and placement of homeless pets into forever homes, and help the people that love them. Whether our team has boots on the ground volunteering, partnering with nonprofit organizations, donating, fundraising, or using our skills and resources to further these causes collectively, we seek to contribute to their ability to fulfill their mission championing for animals and people in need.  In this way, we join a movement to advocate and protect animals and people alike, helping to provide them with the opportunity to live happy, healthy, and meaningful lives that they deserve. Visit our Love At First Sit® Initiative page to learn more about how we initiate and to join our mission.