About the Owners

Christopher and Annie Desmond met while training search and rescue dogs for F.E.M.A. Christopher worked as a paramedic-firefighter in Marin County for 20 years and retired to Tappen Hill. He has served on the board of directors of the Humane Society of Sonoma County, and is active in animal welfare causes. Christopher grew up in New England amidst a variety of beloved family dogs and "Tappen" is an old family name.

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Annie, a nationally recognized trainer and lecturer for the United States K-9 disaster program, began training search and rescue dogs 20 years ago in Lake Tahoe when she worked as a ski patroller at Alpine Meadows. She then worked for 10 years as a licensed instructor at Guide Dogs for the Blind in San Rafael.

The Desmond family, including daughter Jamie, lives at Tappen Hill along with a French Bulldog named Jelly Bean and a Shiba Inu named Duncan. The 3 ducks that make their home in the pond answer to a variety of names and seem to relish their role as distractions for the dogs attending Tappen Hill's boarding school.

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