BONNIE PEREGOY bought her first Afghan Hound in 1972 and the following year began an apprenticeship as a dog groomer. For the next 50+ years she has been involved in every aspect of dog ownership, breeding, training, and exhibition in AKC (American Kennel Club) performance and conformation events under the Elation prefix (kennel name).

Bonnie worked part time as a groomer for several years while also holding other jobs, but in 1985 she bought a boarding kennel in Tolland Connecticut with business partner Leslie Nelson and “went to the dogs” full time doing boarding and grooming (in Connecticut and Maryland). In 1996 she left the boarding business, and began working exclusively as a groomer, on Capitol Hill in Washington DC where she opened “Bonnie’s Dog & Cat Grooming” which has been fixture at the corner of 14th and E St SE since 1998.

She has bred multiple AKC champions, including Ch Elation’s Moonshadow of Sheimar CDX, who remains the only Afghan hound in the history of the breed to have both earned an advanced obedience title and be an All Breed and Specialty Best in show winner. He was from a litter Bonnie bred which still holds the record for the most obedience titled Afghan Hounds from one litter (5). Through the years she has also owned a Standard Poodle, Bichon Frise, and several mixed breed dogs. In 2020 she acquired her first miniature poodle and began showing and breeding miniature poodles in 2022. In 2023 she sold the grooming salon and retired to breeding miniature poodles and doing pet dog grooming for friends and family.

In 1994, after hearing a Ted Turner lecture, Bonnie threw away her choke chains and embraced the exclusive use of Positive Reinforcement for dog training. With a business partner she formed Positive Power Productions and produced her first series of training videos featuring Ted Turner, Leslie Nelson and Patty Ruzzo, called The Power of Positive Training. This first series of seminars and videos remains a foundation in the revolution of dog training from punishment and superstition to relationship and the effective application of behavioral science using positive reinforcement. Many top trainers referenced that work as their launching pad in switching to positive reinforcement behavior shaping. Healthy Dog Productions went on to produce many more video and audio training media. All these classic productions are now available via direct download at Dogwise.

Bonnie was the President of the Talbot Kennel Club for 6 years, the Potomac Afghan Hound Club for 6 years, and the Obedience Chairman of the Afghan Hound Club of America. She has served as Obedience Trial Chairman, Show Chairman, and has judged conformation and obedience at many AKC sanctioned events (sweepstakes and matches). For 26 years she was on the summer staff at Camp Gone To The Dogs in Vermont specializing in teaching the “Really Reliable Recall” which is an immediate “come when called” command that works in emergency situations.

The HEALTHY DOG STORE is the confluence of Bonnie’s love of dogs’ beauty and brains. Bonnie says “It is dedicated to the customers who through the years have entrusted me with their best friends; dropping their precious pets off at my door and blindly trusting me to handle them with care and concern. To the wonderful dogs and cats who have passed through those doors, and have patiently waited for me to learn their language, so I could listen to them. And to my own dogs, who have kept me company on this journey, and taught me that language.”