Our Trainers

Welcome to Wild Hearts Canine Academy. My name is Kat and I absolutely love working with dogs. I became very interested in dog training after learning how to train my own two dogs, Moonshine and Doolittle. Training my own dogs and learning how dogs learn has changed my life for the better (and my dogs and my wife!) In my previous life I was a Clinical Social Worker and Psychotherapist and after 25+ years of working in the field I made the decision to close my practice in 2021. Shortly after that I started my own dog walking business, Road Dogs 828, and began volunteering at the Asheville Humane Society. I then started working at Asheville Humane Society in the Behavior Department for a period of time and that is where River and I met and became good friends. In June 2023 I returned to my dog walking business and now offer training walks a couple days a week in addition to working with River at Wild Hearts Canine Academy. I am also enrolled in the Dog Trainers Crucible (a dog training program run by Sue Alexander) and working under River’s mentorship continuing to grow and learn as a dog trainer. I will be taking my CPDT exam in September 2026. I am very excited to assist and help enrich you and your dog(s) life.

River Eure, CCPDT, MS

River holds a dog training certification through the Certification Counsel for Professional Dog Trainers and a Master’s in Psychology from the University of North Carolina Wilmington. River has trained under local and international dog trainers such as Trish McMillian, Caitlin Morrow, and Sue Alexander. His interest in the scientific principles of behavior modification started shortly after he adopted his first dog, Tiger, in 2008. Not long after adopting, River left a job as a teacher to work at his local zoo and started his journey to understand as much about the mammalian brain as possible. He quickly learned that environment and training can completely  change an animal’s life and he set out to help the dogs around him have the best life possible.