Kellee Livingston is the founder and principal of The Balanced Animal.

Kellee has loved animals all her life.  She trained her first dog, a black standard poodle named Martha, at age 13.

That same year, Kellee took over the care of a quarter horse that had been abandoned by its owner and left in a stall alone with no companionship or activity for three months.  With hard work and patience, Cindy moved from being afraid to leave her stall to happy trail riding.

Despite her love for animals and her intrinsic training talent, Kellee chose to pursue a career in investments instead of working with animals.  In 2000, though, Kellee became the caretaker of a whippet, Kenya, and that’s when things fell into place.

Animals as Athletes
Enthralled by Kenya’s speed and grace, Kellee added lure coursing and racing (for fun and sport – not to be confused with greyhound track racing) to Kenya’s obedience training.  Kenya loved these activities and Kellee came to view Kenya not just as companion pet, but as an athlete.  She also began to understand that just as human athletes must take special care of themselves to optimize their performance and prevent injury, she needed to think more about how to take care of Kenya.  She researched cross training, massage and high-quality diets for dogs and added all of these to Kenya’s training regimen.

One day, a friend of Kellee’s invited her to attend a one-day course in animal acupressure.  The class was an eye-opener for Kellee; she could see and feel a difference in the animals she worked on that day immediately.  During that one-day class, Kellee became convinced that all animals – not just animals in training for competition – could benefit from acupressure.

All Animals Can Benefit: Theory into Practice
Excited by the potential of working with animals in a new way, Kellee took more courses and became certified in human, canine and equine acupressure as well as the specialized Tellington TTouch for companion animals.  After several years of studying and working with animals part time, Kellee left her corporate job in 2004 and founded The Balanced Animal.  Through The Balanced Animal, Kellee offers a variety of canine and equine services, including massage, bodywork, training and power walking (for dogs).

Today, Kellee is the caretaker of three whippets and numerous dogs and horses through her practice.  She feels privileged to work with animals, helping make their lives better.