My name is Katerina Balani and I am based on the South West part of Scotland/ United
Kingdom. I have been actively involved in dog rescuing for over 25 years. I have fostered
over 100 dogs, most of them with “behavior issues” before they found their forever family.
Having lived most of my life in Greece where I originally come from, I spent much time
observing street dogs.
Very early in my dog rescuing experience I noticed that what people used to call behavior
problem it was nothing else but dog’s natural and instinctive behavior which was
maladaptive in the environment where the dog was forced to live.
This was the main reason why I developed very early, special interest in learning about
canine behavior as an effort to understand dogs better and help establish a deeper
relationship between dogs and their guardians.
I have worked with many rescue organizations over the years from Greece, Germany and
UK, mostly as a volunteer. I have worked in organizing neutering programs, offering support
to families who adopt rescue dogs and helping with any issues they had with their dogs, but
mostly in fostering and helping for the right family for each dog to be chosen.
Meeting Kim about 2 years ago changed my life and the dogs’ lives that I help in an
incredible way. The missing piece, for a long time, was eventually found!
Some of my qualifications are.
- LFDM-S . Licensed Family Dog Mediator. Sheltering Division
- Level 3 dog training degree with IMDT ( Institute of Modern Dog Trainers)
- I am currently working through a level 5 ( advanced) degree on Animal Behavior
- I am a certified Mantrailing Instructor ( I teach Mantrailing which is a really beneficial
sport for dogs, especially for dogs with any kind of reactivity . Mantrailing is one of
my big passions )
- I completed the UK college of Scent Detection Handler course
Currently my dog team is made of six rescue dogs, 5 previously street dogs from Greece and
1 from Romania: Sofia, Summer, Rika , Periklis, Lucky and Ria.