Since 1999, Keri Caraher has been a dog trainer and world-class competitor in sports ranging from agility and flyball to dock diving and disc dog.

After graduating college, she got her first dog, a Great Dane named Morgan. The vet clinic where she worked had a public agility course, and she was instantly hooked; she spent the next decade competing in agility and flyball, where Morgan became famous as the most athletic and titled Great Dane in the history of the breed.

Although she has a fierce love of the Great Dane breed, she fell in love with rescues while going to a shelter with a friend who was adopting a dog to join their flyball team. Her friend got the dog, and Keri came home with Kaya, a rescue mix who she still believes was “the greatest all-around athlete of all time.” She has been passionate about rescue ever since.

In 2012, she founded The Canine Stars, a group that produces high-quality traveling stunt dog shows while also promoting rescue and dog adoption. With her partner, Ethan, and their 14 dogs, she and her group tour North America performing at fairs, festivals, pet expos, theme parks, zoos, TV shows and professional half-time shows, including the Special Olympics opening ceremony at Illinois State University, Calgary Stampede in Canada, the Alaska State Fair and Expo Can Mexico. Most recently, in 2021 she performed with The Canine Stars on Season 16 of America’s Got Talent, advancing to the Quarter Finals.

During the pandemic, when live events were largely at a standstill, she repurposed the RV they traveled in to various events to transport dog food donations to shelters in need and rescue dogs to their new homes. She also developed an online dog training school, including a youth mentorship program for young dog-trainers-in-the-making. When she’s not traveling with her dogs or performing in shows, she loves Starbucks, the Supernatural Oculus Quest Fitness app and fabricating custom kennels.