When pioneering dog behaviour advisor and activist Sarah Fisher died earlier this year, the shock rippled through the global animal welfare community.
For thousands of trainers, behaviourists and guardians, Fisher had transformed the way animals are understood, championing calm observation, sensory learning and emotional safety through her groundbreaking Animal Centred Education (ACE) developed at Tilley Farm near Bath.
For Sarah Whiffen, the new head of ACE, the responsibility is both an immense privilege and a deeply personal challenge. “Sarah’s death was obviously a huge shock,” she says. “She was my dear friend and we worked together for years. I miss her so much.”
Whiffen has spent nearly two decades working in animal welfare, including years on the training and behaviour team at Battersea, which is where she met Sarah who was teaching there. The path that would eventually lead her to ACE began in 2006.
“I had her wonderful influence right at the start of my career,” Whiffen says. “Animal welfare is such a challenging environment as well as rewarding, and Sarah made an enormous difference.”
“I know it was Sarah’s wish that I took over at ACE she says. That’s one of the things I’m really holding onto during this transition”
Fisher was already starting to develop the ideas that would become ACE Free Work, the deceptively simple but powerful technique that now sits at the heart of the ACE philosophy.
The idea was born from observing dogs at Battersea who found physical contact stressful. Instead of forcing interaction, Fisher introduced carefully arranged surfaces, textures and objects that dogs could explore freely, gathering sensory information at their own pace.
ACE Free Work reduces stress, improves posture and balance, encourages natural movement and allows animals to release tension while engaging their curiosity. Many dogs will explore for around 14 to 17 minutes, a time frame that mirrors how humans also process sensory information.
Today ACE Free Work is used not only for dogs but also for cats, horses and other animals, and has become a cornerstone of ACE’s wider educational framework.
Whiffen left Battersea in 2021 to work independently and increasingly alongside Fisher at Tilley Farm, where ACE continued to grow into an international training community. But nothing prepared her for the moment the work would suddenly become hers to lead.
“I know it was Sarah’s wish that I took over at ACE,” she says. “That’s one of the things I’m really holding onto during this transition. There is definitely a huge shock and grief element. But I hold onto the fact that she chose me. I was involved in ACE from its earliest days and she trusted me and believed in me.”
“If something funny happened, I’d call her straight away often in the middle of laughing. She was always the first person I would call. I miss her incredibly.”
There was little time to pause. ACE courses were already scheduled, students were waiting, and the global community built around Fisher’s work needed guidance.
“We had to start working almost immediately following the news,” Whiffen says. “I literally had until January 12th to prepare myself and then we had to start teaching again.”
“It gave me something to focus on. A way to move forward.” Fisher’s family, she says, have been incredibly supportive. “They were her absolute world. And the team at Tilley Farm are amazing. Her absence is enormous, but her presence is too.”
Part of that presence lives on in Fisher’s extensive written material. “She wrote so much. There are still so many wonderful treasures to share.”
ACE has grown far beyond a training technique. It is now a structured educational approach, with certified trainers, tutors and instructors teaching the programme worldwide.
At its heart lies a simple but profound idea: emotional wellbeing is an essential part of education and learning.
“You can’t have emotional wellbeing unless the animal you are working with feels safe,” says Whiffen. ACE Free Work provides exactly that, a calm environment where animals can explore and regulate their own experiences before being asked to learn anything new.
“It creates that place of safety,” she explains. “Once an animal feels safe, they can process and explore novelty much more effectively.”
“We carry on the good work. And she will always be a huge part of that”
Later this month, Whiffen will take another step into her new role when she speaks at the Emotional Wellbeing in Animals Conference in Torquay.
Organised by Pet Remedy, the two-day event will bring together leading voices in animal behaviour science including Dr Robert Falconer-Taylor, Dr Amber Batson, Chloe Scoones, Daniel Shaw, Victoria Stilwell and Andrew Hale.
It will be Whiffen’s first major public appearance since Fisher’s death. “This will be my first event as lead for ACE,” she says. Her talk will focus on emotional wellbeing and the fundamental role safety plays in learning, the very principles that Fisher spent decades championing.
Despite the responsibility now resting on her shoulders, Whiffen insists the work remains a shared mission.
ACE continues to train practitioners across multiple levels, from trainers and practitioners through to tutors and instructors, creating a global community dedicated to compassionate, observation-led animal education.
Sarah said, “We have an amazing ACE teaching team and our ongoing mission is to share the relevance and importance of ACE in Sarah’s memory.I sometimes think, what will I do without Sarah?
“We carry on the good work. And she will always be a huge part of that.”
This is a guest post by Hayley O’Keeffe. Want to write for us? Visit www.dogstodaymagazine.co.uk/essay-submission or email editorial@dogstodaymagazine.co.uk.
