Sharon Page’s love for dogs started at a young age. As she describes growing up, Sharon can’t help but laugh when discussing her love for dogs, “My first word had been doggie. I said doggie before I said mama!”
It was that early enthusiasm that led Sharon down a tricky path. She decided she wanted to become an official circus trick dog trainer, and at the age of 12 got her first dog.
“I taught my first dog to jump up and grab cigarettes out of people’s mouths because I hated smoking.”, Sharon says with a chuckle. It’s a trick she doesn’t highly recommend teaching your pet, but it was the start of a huge career for Sharon and her dogs.
Sharon and her dogs have won over 113 titles, certificates, and versatility awards. She’s lived all over the world, and she even competed on the reality show “Turkey’s Got Talent”.
“We won the phone vote with over a million people calling in to vote for us and went straight to the semifinals where we performed a pirate routine,” says Sharon.
Sharon still competes at national competitions, but some of her favorite shows are actually booked a little closer to home. Performing in front of crowds at local libraries.
“They are a blast,” says Sharon. “To go do a library show and get kids enthusiastic about reading is totally up my alley.”
For Sharon, dogs have had a huge impact on her life. Even pushing her to learn a few new tricks of her own.
“Because of dogs, I’ve learned how to do so many different things,” Sharon says. “I even went back to graduate school to study animal behavior.”
Along the way, she’s formed bonds and relationships you just can’t teach otherwise.
“No matter how friendly and wonderful the other people in your life are,” Sharon says. “There’s something so accepting about a dog. They’re so nonjudgmental and always happy to see you.”
