Background
Jill’s literal first word was “dog”, and she has loved dogs all her life. After teaching English for years in a Connecticut private school, she decided to combine her fascination with the group dynamics of the engaging classroom with her lifelong experience training dogs.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jill-simmons-97033b4/
This decision culminated in PoeticGold Farm located in Falmouth, Maine- a happy working training center reflecting the values of hands on learning, deep respect for living things, great sportsmanship, and a sound education for dogs of all backgrounds, ages, and sizes.
Jill has written about dogs for Forbes, The Down East Dog News, Fido, The American Journal Of Obedience, and photographed dogs for Dog Fancy, Dog World, The Golden Retriever News, The Chronical Of The Dog, and Show Site Magazine. Her goldens appear in Orvis, Sperry Topsider, and
Fetchdog ad campaigns. 
Over the years, PoeticGold has become a community of dog lovers, rescuing a cardboard box full of terrier mix puppies and giving them all forever homes, hosting a wedding between two people who met in STAR puppy class, and offering fundraisers for shelters and rescues.
Believing that dog training supplies a vocabulary for a lifelong conversation between dog and owner, Jill makes sure that each team is able to read the signals and body language of one another, as well as focusing on an extremely strong curriculum of rock solid skills and manners. Jill believes in positive training, and agrees with the sentiment that “positive does not mean permissive”.
Accomplishments
Over the years, sharing life with six golden retrievers, Jill has excelled in myriad aspects of the dog world including earning a Rally Advanced Excellent title with her dog Tally as well as his CD ( Companion Dog), being invited to the Rally Obedience National Competition with her golden Copley, competing at the Westminster Dog Show in New York City with her American Champion/ American Grand Champion goldens Lushie & Mystic, and earning titles with client dogs on behalf of their owners . Three of Jill’s goldens are certified therapy dogs, and all have attained their Canine Good Citizen. Jill is a CGC evaluator, a longtime member of the Golden Retriever Club Of America, a founding member of the Maine Golden Retriever Club, a moderator at the Golden Retriever Forum, and belongs to the APDT ( Association Of Professional Dog Trainers).
As an English teacher, Jill earned the 2001 Nationally Recognized Presidential Scholars Top Teacher Award for Connecticut, the Pomfret School Faculty Award in 2007, and was included in Who’s Who in Teaching from 1998 to 2003.
Education
Jill attended Gould Academy in Bethel as a high school student, Colgate University in Hamilton, New York for her Bachelor Of Arts degree, and Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut for her Masters. She spent nearly twenty summers running the horseback riding program for Winona Camps, and loves horses almost as much as dogs.
PoeticGold Farm Dog Training in Falmouth, Maine provides a ” Sound Education To Every Dog”. We train Maine puppies, we train Maine people, and foster a love and a language between them.