United States Navy Veteran | Nearly Three Decades of Canine Behavior & Training Experience
Welcome to the Pinetree Animal Hospital Family
Pinetree Animal Hospital is pleased to welcome Thomas McKellar “Tom” Israel to our team. With nearly three decades of professional experience in canine behavior, training, and education, Tom brings extensive hands-on experience and a philosophy centered on understanding dogs and strengthening the relationships they share with their owners. His background spans military service, law enforcement, animal welfare, judicial service, specialized military instruction, business ownership, and canine education.
A Lifetime of Service and Professional Experience
Tom is a United States Navy veteran who honorably completed a four-year enlistment in 1992. Following his military service, he worked as a Wildlife Enforcement Officer with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission and as a Police Officer with the Village of Pinehurst. He also served in Animal Control, enforcing animal control laws and investigating animal cruelty cases. Tom later served as a Judicial Magistrate for the State of North Carolina, assigned to Moore County. In 1997, while working as a Pinehurst Police Officer, Tom began his professional canine behavior and training career part-time. Following his judicial service, canine behavior and training became his full-time profession.
Specialized Canine Experience and Education
In 1998, Tom began serving as an adjunct instructor teaching canine evasion and countermeasures to sniper students attending the Special Operations Target Interdiction Course at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. His canine experience spans service dogs, working dogs, companion dogs, behavioral concerns, basic command training, and recreational training. These varied experiences have shaped his understanding of the ways dogs communicate, learn, respond, and interact with their environments.
Business Ownership and Leadership
In 2014, Tom established TRACK OF THE DOG LLC – Canine Behavior and Training, a business he owned and operated for approximately ten years. Through this venture, he continued his work in canine behavior and training while managing the responsibilities of an independent business and working directly with dog owners.
Serving Soldiers and Shelter Dogs
A particularly meaningful part of Tom’s career was his volunteer work supporting soldiers assigned to the Warrior Transition Battalion at Fort Bragg. As Head of Education and Training for the Moore County Dog Tags Program at the Moore County Animal Operations Center, he taught participating soldiers his canine behavior and training methodology through hands-on work with shelter dogs. The program helped soldiers learn canine communication and training while working to make shelter dogs more adoptable and better prepared for new homes. This experience brought together Tom’s dedication to service members, canine education, and animal welfare.
A Personal Connection to Pinetree Animal Hospital
Tom’s connection to Pinetree Animal Hospital is both professional and personal. He and his wife, one of the hospital’s veterinarians, were married on May 3, 1997, after meeting over an injured cat that Tom rescued one night, picking it up off the road while on patrol as a Police Officer in Pinehurst, North Carolina. Together, they share their lives with six dogs. For Tom, understanding dogs is more than a profession—it is part of everyday life. He looks forward to complementing the hospital’s veterinary services through canine behavior education and training.
Learn more about our Canine Behavior & Training Services.