Sonny Madsen

President and Founder of K-9 Caring Angels

Sonny Madsen President & Founder

Mrs. Madsen is a master certified dog trainer and owner/operator of multiple Northern Virginia Sit Means Sit Dog Training franchises which led to the founding of K-9 Caring Angels Therapy and Service Dogs. Mrs. Madsen comes from a career as an award winning manager and public speaker with an emphasis on sales, training and motivation.

It is through K-9 Caring Angels that Mrs. Madsen's dreams are being realized. She enjoys what she considers "the honor of training and certifying our Caring Angles therapy teams" which allows her to expand on giving back to the community by offering K-9 Caring Angels where there is a demand and a need. This has allowed her to assist veterans, local schools, underprivileged children, toys for tots, nursing homes, juvenile detention centers, first responders, domestic violence programs, human tracking prevention, counseling organizations, etc.

Her ultimate goal is to build the “Warrior Angels project” where families can come to a private facility and stay on location as they learn the proper way to integrate a Service dog into their lives. By offering this option she feels it will better set the family and the dogs up for optimum success. Statistic show that at least 22 soldiers a day commit suicide and over 40% of those are due to PTSD. Mrs. Madsen feels strongly that Warrior's Angels can make a difference, she has seen if first hand.

Mrs. Madsen continues to explore ways in which Caring Angels can work to better peoples lives and the community while expanding her own knowledge base and community understanding of the benefits of Therapy and Service Dogs.

Ted Madsen

Vice President

Theodore (Ted) Madsen Vice President

Ted Madsen is a professional dog trainer and business owner and the Vice President of K-9 Caring Angels. K-9 Caring Angels is a 501(c)(3) organization doing business as Caring Angels and Warrior’s Angels based in Northern Virginia. As a professional dog trainer and partner in Sit Means Sit Dog Training of Northern Virginia, Ted spends his days working on the business and with dogs and their humans to build stronger bonds and condent, obedient, and happy dogs (and owners). Ted joined his wife Sonny in starting Caring Angels Therapy dogs to give back to the community that has given so much to us and the Warrior’s Angels Service Dogs to help our soldiers and veterans by donating psychiatric service dogs to those with challenges like PTSD and doing our part for those that have given so much to us as Americans.

Before becoming a dog trainer, Ted worked in the corporate world as an executive in the travel and tourism industry with Hilton, Wyndham and Resort Condominiums International (RCI) into 2008 when the economy crashed and the travel and tourism industry faced unfamiliar challenges. Ted then founded Quintessential Consulting Group, a partnership designed to help businesses in the industry through the changing landscape. It was in 2010 that Sonny came to Ted with the idea of starting a dog training business after meeting with the founder of Sit Means Sit, Fred Hassen, in Las Vegas, NV. She thought he would think it was a crazy idea but his support and her drive made it happen and the same is true for K-9 Caring Angels. In 2012 Ted closed up his consulting business to train full time.

Gary W Davis

Treasurer

Gary W. Davis CPA. Treasurer

Gary W. Davis is a Certied Public Accountant (CPA) and a Certied Financial Planner (CFP) specializing in providing growing businesses the accounting and business strategy and hands-on assistance necessary to succeed. As a business owner and a CPA for almost 30 years, we know the challenges of operating a company, keeping an eye on growth and protability and how important accurate information is to the business.

Our mission is to provide the accounting expertise and practical business knowledge a business owner needs to operate eciently, according to regulations and in a manner that aligns with the business owners’ goals.

Our client philosophy is to advise every client with the highest professional standards standards and personal dedication to delivering information and support, guidance and practical advice. It involves honest, proactive communication and responsiveness that we, ourselves value in a business relationship.

Lynn Ritter

Secretary

Lynn Ritter Secretary

Lynn came to us as a Sit Means Sit client looking for trainer for her dog Noodle. She then joined as an evaluator for Sit Means Sit part time and through her strong work and commitment trained and got Noodle certified as a Therapy Dog with K-9 Caring Angels. Giving back to the community really drove her to get more involved with K-9 Caring Angels organizing and participating heavily in our activities. It was only natural that she join the Board.

Stephanie Shane

Board Member

Stephanie Shane DVM

Stephanie Shane, DVM has been a practicing veterinarian since graduating from VirginiaMaryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine in 1994. She is the current owner and Medical Director of Staples Mill Animal Hospital in Woodbridge, Virginia. She is a member of the American Animal Hospital Association, the American Veterinary Medical Association and the American Association of Feline Practitioners. She is a Fear Free Certied doctor and is committed to providing the best experience for her patience while they are in her care.

Michael Shane

Board Member

Michael (Mike) Shane CVPM

Michael Shane, CVPM has over 16 years of Veterinary Practice Management experience. He received his Bachelor of Science in Management Science from Virginia Tech in 1987. He spent the first 12 years of his career developing Management Information Systems for most of the major pharmaceutical companies.

In 1999 he and his wife, Dr. Stephanie Shane opened their first animal hospital in Northern Virginia which was a journey of discover which led to the sale of that practice to launch their dream practice with Staples Mill Animal Hospital.

Angela Moxley

Board Member

Angela Moxley Trainer

Angela is a lead trainer and top producer at Sit Means Sit Dog Training of Northern Virginia and was responsible for training one of the first Service Dogs that K-9 Caring Angels Donated in Dee Dee the Warrior Angel (See the All Hands US Navy video in Impact). She works with many of the K-9 Caring Angels Therapy and Service dogs and helps mentor some of our other trainers that work with our K-9 Caring Angels.

Amanda McGarril Smith

Outreach and Engagement Programs Liaison

Amanda Therapy Team Event Coordinator

My name is Amanda and I recently left the Loudoun County Department of Parks and Recreation to move to our dream home in Charleston, SC. I have been with the Caring Angels Therapy Team with my dog Kyro since March of 2017 and became a Therapy Dog Evaluator on June 25th, 2022 and took over event coordination for our NOVA Therapy Team.

Kenneth Vierra

Fundraising Liason

Kenneth (Ken) Vierra

By profession Kenneth Vierra has been an Oceanographer for the past 36 years. Ken is also an American Red Cross Instructor and Instructor Trainer as well as an Assistant Scuba Instructor. As a Scuba Diver Ken has had the opportunity to dive around the world with hundreds of Hammerhead Sharks, Great White Sharks and other sea life; as well as dive on World War II Shipwrecks and see / experience the underwater world very few have seen.

In 2013 Kenneth Vierra acquired his four-legged fur-baby Keeshond, named Nikita, born in Charlottesville, VA. Together, Nikita and Ken quickly started down the path of training as a Therapy Dog team. At 9 months old Nikita began obedience training with the team. Nikita Graduated as a Therapy Dog / Advanced Canine Good Citizen on September 14, 2014. Ken and Nikita work as a team providing care and comfort to children and adults. Nikita is truly a teddy bear in the form of a loving Keeshond that longs and loves to have adults and children pet her.

Ken continues helping in the Community as a Therapy Dog Team member with Nikita. Ken utilizes his background, experience and connections to provide new and exciting visitation opportunities for the Caring Angels Organization. As one of Caring Angels Handler’s, Ken provides Therapy Dog outreach by facilitating unique events and being a Liason for the Caring Angel Therapy Dog program opportunities within the community.

Ken is actively involved in working with organizations to raise funds for the Caring Angel Therapy Dog Organization Warrior Angel Project which provides Service Dogs for Veterans and Children with special needs.

Ken as Nikita’s handler continued her training and she became an Arch Angel in June 2017. The Arch Angels in the Caring Angel Therapy Dog Organization are truly the Elite Therapy Dogs. Handler and dog are a team, and as such they must be able to show complete control both on and o leash, in any situation. They train and test together so both handlers and canine companions are experts equally. The Arch Angel teams have gone above and beyond in serving our communities, often times creating unique or specialized programs for organizations in need. Ken is fortunate to have a canine like Nikita as she truly exemplies the qualities that Caring Angel Therapy Dogs represent; and both Ken and Nikita continue their journey as both work towards helping those in the Community as Therapy Dog Handler and Canine Ambassadors.