About
Frania Shelley-Grielen has been working professionally with cats, dogs, birds, and their people for over 15 years. She is an applied animal behaviorist, author, speaker, trainer and educator who holds a Masters Degree in Animal Behavior from Hunter College and a Masters Degree in Urban Planning from New York University. Frania specializes in behavior modification work and training with cats, dogs and birds and humane management for urban wildlife. The author of “Cats and Dogs Living with and Looking at Companion Animals from their Point of View,” and “Behavior Matters for Cats and Dogs,” she founded AnimalBehaviorist.us in 2009, to share her work on how welfare based, force free, science focused strategies from the canine and feline point of view are more effective and make everyone happier, including the humans.
Frania is licensed by the NY State Education Department to teach the Pet Care Technician program in vocational schools. She spent five years developing and teaching full time, New York City’s only Pet Care Technician program at a career school for individuals with disabilities. Frania is a registered therapy dog handler, certified Doggone Safe Bite Safety Instructor, and professional member of the Pet Professional Guild, International Society for Applied Ethology, Dog Writers Association of America, and Cat Writers Association. She posts extensively on animal behavior and training on her AnimalBehaviorist.us website, with links to videos of Frania’s lectures, presentations and training demos on YouTube.
Frania’s career in animal behavior, includes, volunteer work at animal shelters and wildlife rehabs in NYC, Florida and Guatemala, colony caretaker and TNR in New Jersey Her work in the Pet Care Technician Program gave Frania wide-ranging experience in training learners to use the best, most low stress, informed and humane approaches to work professionally with animals in the pet services industry. Her work in the classroom and behind the scenes, preparing and evaluating students and sites in internships in dog day cares, grooming salons and shelters, gave Frania unique insight into this industry in New York City and the need for higher standards for both worker education and services. This experience led her to create PetCenterEd, Inc., an innovative not for profit, science and welfare based learning and services center for people and pets
Frania Shelley-Grielen, MA, MS 