In the Media: Gluten Free Unwrapped Podcast: Celiac Service Dogs Unwrapped | Kendra Williams & Kari Bastyr Talk Pros and Cons of Gluten-Detection Dogs

In this episode of Gluten Free Unwrapped: Celiac Service Dogs Unwrapped | Kendra Williams & Kari Bastyr Talk Pros and Cons of Gluten-Detection Dogs, Kendra Williams and Kari Bastyr share their founders story about how they started Celiac Service Dogs and why they trained their gluten detection service dogs. Both Kari and Kendra live with celiac disease, they depend on their specially trained dogs to detect gluten, but their paths crossed in a very unexpect way.

It started in 2020 when Kari came across a video posted by Kendra on her Instagram page @sukipwd, showcasing her dog training with loose flour. Concerned that Kendra's training method was unsafe, Kari reached out through Instagram with a friendly warning. That simple DM sparked only a conversation but also a strong friendship, and eventually, a business partnership.

As they shared their personal journeys with celiac disease and their dogs, they realized how many people had been misinformed or improperly trained. Combining Kari’s experience as a professional dog trainer-turned-gluten-detection service dog trainer with Kendra’s background in creating learning and development programs for corporations, they worked together to create a series of courses designed to help others understand what it takes to train their own gluten detection dogs safely and effectively.

In this episode, you'll discover:

• How Kendra's battle with celiac disease and her ongoing symptoms led her to train a dog to detect gluten.

• How Kari's personal and professional experiences as a dog trainer, along with her own celiac diagnosis, ignited her passion for helping others.

• The ups and downs of living with a gluten-detection dog, including the challenges and the rewarding moments that come with it.

• You will also learn more about their special gluten detection dogs, Suki and Birdie

If you want to learn more about the founders of Celiac Service Dogs, how they decided to train their dogs to detect gluten, and why they advocate for others to learn the proper way to train, listen to Gluten Free Upwrapped podcast HERE.