Uniting Eastern Iowa – Building a Working Dog Community
Eastern Iowa Working Dog Association is dedicated to supporting handlers and their working dogs through education, community events, and shared resources. We strive to foster a collaborative environment where skill development and camaraderie thrive.
Championing Excellence in Working Dog Training
Meet the dedicated individuals who drive our community forward.
Travis Appel
President and co-founder
Travis Appel is a dedicated dog handler, and tracker, currently training in cadaver dog work. He is passionate about ethical tracking, mentoring new handlers, and building community across all working dog disciplines. Bringing real science to practical dog handling.
Marie Appel
Treasurer and co-founder
Marie is dedicated to developing the best working dog with an interest in genetics, lineage and training. With years of experience training both ends of the leash, Marie is a trusted community expert who is driven to develop the K9 team.
Alinda Sabourin
Member at large
Owner and trainer at Harvest Moon Dratharrs, Alinda brings a tremendous amount of traditional Draht training and testing. She has been a wounded game tracker for almost a decade and a pivotal member of the Iowa Blood Trackers helping legislation for Iowa.
Zina Becker
Vice President and co-founder
Zina brings years of experience in breading and dog training excellence. Zina has a passion for developing working dogs.
Peggy Carrol
Secretary and co-founder
Peggy has great passion for the bloodhound and their excellence in odor detection skills. She brings experience of tracking wounded game as well as some man-trailing, from breed test standards.
Connecting Dedicated Working Dog Enthusiasts in Eastern Iowa
Learn about the communities and regions we proudly support.