The Animal Department was founded in 2016 by Andrea Gold. After living and working in Los Angeles for over a decade, she recently relocated back to Austin, TX where she was raised. She has been in the animal business for over 15 years and holds a degree in Animal Behavior and Wildlife Management from Moorpark College's Exotic Animal Training and Management Program (2003). During that time she focused her studies in Animal Ethics, Behavior, Training, and Wildlife Education.
Andrea has primarily worked in the film business both nationally and internationally and has worked with everything from dogs and cats to elephants, primates, big cats, rhinos, and wolves. She also has specialized training in extreme canine behavioral rehabilitation, has developed and implemented several training programs for local shelters to assist in making dogs more adoptable, and has worked closely with military veterans and trauma victims to train dogs for service work.