The Collared Scholar was founded in
2007 by Meagan Karnes and Katie Earle.
Ms. Karnes was the founder and President
of Fur-Crazy Pet Care, one of San
Diego's largest and most well known
pet care companies. Ms. Karnes founded
the business after her encounters
with sub par service providers in
the industry. With a bachelor's degree
in biochemisty and a Master's Degree
in Business Administration, Ms. Karnes
found herself working long hours in
the San Diego Biotech field. Her dog,
Koby, an American Pit Bull Terrier
was suffering. Ms. Karnes and her
husband decided to hire a caretaker
for their beloved pet. However, on
the second day with his pet sitter,
Koby was taken to an unfenced park
for some playtime and, while the sitter
turned her attention away from the
dog, he got spooked and ran away.
Koby was gone for 7 days before Ms.
Karnes and her husband found him in
an Animal Control facility, frightened
and traumatized.
After her experience with Koby,
Ms. Karnes decided to leave the
biotech world and pursue a career
with animals so that she could rehabilitate
her dog, as he had developed people
and animal aggression while he was
missing. Thus was born Fur-Crazy
Pet Care, a pet care company that
quickly grew to be the largest in
San Diego with a client base of
over 800.
While running Fur-Crazy, Ms. Karnes
took part in dog welfare and rescue
efforts, through which, she was
first introduced to Mrs. Earle.
The two instantly hit it off as
they shared the same passion for
saving and rehabilitating homeless
and stray animals. At the time,
Mrs. Earle was working for the Children's
Physicians Medical Group as UM/QI/Credentialing
Delegation Oversight Coordinator.
While working in the healthcare
industry, Mrs. Earle volunteered
for several local animal rescue
and welfare groups and was integrally
involved in the management of a
local Dachshund Rescue organization.
After meeting Ms. Karnes, Mrs. Earle
began contemplating a change in
careers and when she realized she
could finally pursue her passion,
she left the healthcare industry
and joined the Fur-Crazy team. Because
of her past experience and abilities,
Mrs. Earle quickly excelled, becoming
Fur-Crazy's business development
manager and certified dog trainer
in less than a year.
Fur-Crazy Pet Care was sold in
2007 after experiencing exponential
growth since inception. While still
involved with Fur-Crazy Pet Care,
Ms. Karnes and Mrs. Earle developed
a dog training program, tackling
behavioral issues primarily in rescued
dogs. They also developed a program
to train dog trainers which they
began to implement prior to Fur-Crazy's
sale. After selling Fur-Crazy Pet
Care, the two retained their rights
to the training portion of the business
and so was born The Collared Scholar.
The Collared Scholar is a full
service dog training academy that
focuses on behavior modification
and training for urban living. Ms.
Karnes, through her experiences
with her own dog, has developed
a specialization in bully breeds
with emphasis on anti-aggression
training and Mrs. Earle, through
her own experiences has developed
her skills in working with deaf
dogs.
The company now services all of
San Diego County. They offer such
services as Puppy Classes, Basic
Obedience, Advanced Obedience, Agility,
and Anti-Aggression Training. They
also offer a complete online database
that serves as a virtual blackboard
where students have access to important
training tips and handouts, as well
as an exclusive online community
of pet owners involved in the program.
The company also offers a rescue
and rehabilitation program to help
save dogs in need.
