It is literally true that you can succeed best and quickest by helping others to succeed.

Founder Amy Halm is a big-picture thinker who formerly worked as an executive-level spokesperson in the telecom, high tech and healthcare sectors. She has worked with public, private and nonprofit organizations.

So no one was more surprised than her when the simple act of adopting a retired police dog evolved into a successful business detecting narcotics in the private sector. Raised on a working dairy farm, Amy was quite accustomed to having animals as business partners, but drug detection dogs had not been in her career plan until meeting K-9 Dargo.

Co-founder Dargo passed on in 2016, but his legacy lives on in the growing company.

Desert Drug Dog has been embraced as a key partner in supporting patients through the healing process.

Amy holds a Bachelor’s degree in Advertising with a minor in psychology from Northern Illinois University.

Operations Manager Dana Thelander has spent her entire career working with animals, in vastly different settings ranging from driving a stagecoach at the original "Rawhide," a popular Arizona destination, to protecting life and property at a Level 1 trauma center as a K9 Security Officer. Along the way she also worked as a vet tech, a dog (and people) trainer, an account manager at a printing company, and a 911 Dispatcher for Colorado State Patrol.

Through all of these jobs she honed the skills she uses now as a professional narcotics dog handler and Operations Manager at Desert Drug Dog. The ability to assess and respond to difficult situations makes her a valuable presence at the treatment centers where patients often struggle with the challenges of new recovery. 

Dana's graphic design background makes her our go-to person for our marketing materials. In her spare time, she is all about spending time with her family and of course her dogs. Dana is a huge part in making Desert Drug Dog what it is today.

Lead Handler Michaley Adkins, with a PhD in Neuroscience, might seem a bit overqualified to run detection dogs through schools and treatment centers... on the other hand, who could possibly have a more holistic view of human and dog behavior than someone who understands brain, body and chemical interactions! Michaley also has a passion for nutritional health and is also a certified Nutritional Therapy Practitioner (NTP). Her amazing companion K-9 Oakley, was such a natural at detection, he was knocking it out of the park finding drugs in a record-breaking time. 

Michaley is a fantastic team player, known for her thoughtful suggestions and insights into what we could do better to serve our many diverse clients. Her analytical skills combined with her compassion for people struggling with drug issues, make her an indispensable member of our team. In her spare time she enjoys hiking and finding serene spots to camp. 

Handler Mallory Fabozzi has spent over the last 10 years training dogs and helping people build a meaningful and productive bond with their canine companions. Watching her and K9 Legion together, it is easy to see what the people she helps are striving for. She is a wonderful member of our team and we are proud to have her and K9 Legion show up on any client location. 

Handler Kate Southards has a BS in psychology and criminal justice. She loves training dogs, teaching people and helping the community. When you love working detection dogs, you tend to take any opportunity you can to do it more. Kate is a great example of that with her dogs that are certified in detecting odor of firearms. They have a full time job doing this but still find time to help us out at schools. With their help we are able to provide another level of support in finding firearms that are illegally brought onto school property. We are grateful she has chosen to share her dogs and skills with us. 

Handler Assistant Ashley Dunham joined our team in January 2025. She has a bachelors in Biological Sciences with a concentration in Animal Behavior/Physiology and Neurobiology. Ashley also has extensive dog-related experience having worked in an animal behavior lab at Arizona State University, as a veterinary assistant, in wildlife conservation, and as a CPDT-KA with a specialty in training service dogs. Her passion and desire to learn and excel is evident in just her short time with us. She is a mother of two, and in her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family. We look forward to watching her grow within our company. 

Handler Assistant Natalee Willett loves training dogs and also works at a local dog training center. She is currently learning and training with her dogs in the art of detection, while helping our handlers during their sweeps of client sites. Natalee loves the ocean and all her dogs have ocean themed names. In her off time, she enjoys traveling and competing with her dogs in dock diving. We are thankful to have her on our team. 

Handler Jessica Frend-Meyers is an accomplished equestrian and is trainer and owner at JFM Show Jumping in Gilbert, Arizona. Jessica’s unique background includes Masters’ level studies in Law, Political Science and Justice, as well as many years working in her family’s pharmacy. What could be a better background for a drug detection handler! Jessica along with her dog, K9 Gracie, help us in their spare time and we are grateful to have this team working at Desert Drug Dog.

Robert Chisholm was a firefighter who was looking for a challenging side gig when he became involved with our training company. Eventually his interest in our detection work turned into training with us, and now Robert and his 2 labs, K-9 Herald and K-9 Riggins perform sweeps on a regular basis.

Robert has been known to step in to tough situations on client sites, which he has masterfully diffused, thanks to his first responder skills and gift of human respect and understanding.