Today we’d like to introduce you to Christie Meyer Faccinto.
Hi Christie, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
My grandfather was a veterinarian, and it seemed I was destined for that direction my whole life. My parents were wildly tolerant of my love for animals, with only four main rules: no more dogs (we had a family dog), no cats, no rats, and nothing with more than four legs. 🙂
In high school, they helped me get involved in wildlife rehabilitation, environmental education, and falconry. When I transferred to Michigan State University, I obtained a job at a veterinary hospital that was also a teaching facility for MSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine. I ended up living on the grounds and was well set up for the path I had always intended.
But living and thriving in that environment also showed me there was more to explore—areas of the industry that were growing. I came to the conclusion that medicine was not where my heart was. Behavior was my calling. With encouragement from my family, my work family, and my friends, I left pre-vet and earned my BS in Zoology with a concentration in Animal Behavior and Neurobiology in December 1998.
After completing significant continuing education, I began seeing referral clients as a clinical behavior consultant. I created training programs for pets, but also for other veterinary practices that were getting ready to step into this new age, blending physical wellness with behavioral wellness.
In 2008, I relocated from Michigan to Cookeville to join my then-boyfriend, now husband, at Thunderhawk Canine LLC. I knew that my skill set was unique and looked forward to sharing it with the veterinary community in the Upper Cumberland. However, my fast-talking Yankee tongue (literally—I talked VERY fast. LOL) made folks suspicious, and I got several comments along the lines of, “Well, you’re just a bit of a thing. How do you handle those big dawgs?”
So we switched tactics and my husband and I built Thunderhawk Canine to serve pet families and local law enforcement. The pet clients went back to their veterinarians with great feedback, and those relationships quickly started forming. The police dogs we were producing were demonstrating both stability and effectiveness, and those relationships started forming as well. Thunderhawk grew.
By 2021, we were big and offering pretty much everything a dog family could need. We had trained several exceptional trainers, and business was thriving. But it was the second year of the pandemic, and we were all getting restless. Most of all, I was managing a business and no longer training dogs or talking to clients. We made the decision to relieve all of our trainers of their non-competes, clone our software, and help these talented folks start their own businesses.
AND THEY ARE KILLING IT!
Middle Tennessee is fortunate to have some AMAZING training options for pet guardians.
As we continue to evolve and prioritize helping people and pets in the ways they receive information best, we have now launched a first-of-its-kind resource. During the pandemic, the world changed. How we communicate, how we take in information—everything was forced to evolve.
Therefore, we launched Pheefee.com on May 1 to meet those needs. It is the first on-demand dog training platform (at least in the U.S.—and we have not been able to find anything similar elsewhere in the world).
Pet parents create a quick account, choose filters based on training style, the issue they are dealing with, and other preferences. Then they can select a trainer based on experience, certifications, price, language, and other factors. Finally, the client determines how much time they would like to spend on the video call.
Everything is upfront and led by the needs of the client—not the sales tactics of trainers. Upon completion of the call, clients are provided with a summary of the session and a checklist to work on. They can choose to meet with the same trainer for future sessions or try another trainer. Or, if they only needed help with one simple thing, they get that too, with no pressure to do more.
The concept is simple: quality, personalized information when people need it.
No more social media guesses from friends and family that often make everything worse. No more searching for trainers in the community and having to jump through their hoops. And no more asking AI and refining prompts to still just get a generic answer.
REAL people. Supporting you when you need it.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
For the most part, growth has been smooth. Dog training is about relationships. First it is about the relationship within the household, but then also my relationship with the family. I often say that a great dog trainer is a great communicator, and an amazing translator.
Some of the biggest issues that arise in personal relationships comes from miscommunication and misunderstanding. It happens at an alarming rate, and occurs between members of the same species. LOL. Human to human. So when we add another species, it complicates things even further. Not only do humans tend to misread human actions, they very frequently apply those misinterpretations to their pets, and it is another layer to bridge.
By keeping positive relationships and good communication the focus, we have been able to weather tightened economies and the challenges of franchise based training companies moving into the area. They came in with expensive branding and big budget marketing. We fought back by investing in our communities by donating time to 4H and FFA, assisting rescues with difficult cases, giving free educational talks to the community (thunderstorm phobias, separation anxiety, helping pandemic puppies) and continuing education in the veterinary industry.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a part owner of Thunderhawk Canine LLC in Cookeville.
I am CEO and part owner of Pheefee Technologies Inc
I specialize in bridging the gap between clinical behavior and functional obedience to help people truly love living with their dogs. I am most proud of the next generation of trainers that I have helped learn and grow, ethically, in our community. And extremely proud to have created a resource that provides accessible, personal, dog training to the masses through Pheefee.com
Our commitment to community and ethical personal interactions has set us apart in the industry. People love their pets, and SO MANY get into this unregulated profession for just one reason. Money. People will spend money on their pets, and trainers have coaches who teach them how to exploit that. We have prided ourselves on putting relationships before money, and genuinely helping people and pets.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I absolutely love that within a 50 mile radius you can find some extremely rural communities who are close and committed to their heritage. And also the glitz and glamor of celebrity and stardom. Within an hour you can have the most wholesome, timeless dishes or eat never heard of creations at a Michlin starred restaurant. The contrast is beautiful.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.Pheefee.com www.ThunderhawkCanine.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pheefeetech https://www.instagram.com/thunderhawkcanine
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pheefeeinc https://www.facebook.comthunderhawkk9
