A passionate animal welfare advocate and certified dog trainer and pet nutritionist, Lara Shannon has been a regular on Australian TV and radio stations for the past two decades promoting important animal conservation, dog training, behaviour and other pet care issues. In 2016, Lara created and is the producer and host of Pooches at Play, a lifestyle TV show to help entertain and educate people about how to care for and understand their dogs better, which airs on Australia's Network 10.  She is also feature talent on Channel 9’s The Pet Rescuers.  Lara is also the editor of poochesatplay.com, runs her own dog training business in Melbourne, Australia and is an ambassador for Second Chance Animal Rescue and Pets of the Homeless.  She is dedicated to promoting responsible pet ownership and adoption through her endeavours to drastically reduce the number of dogs and cats that end up in pounds and shelters each year. Never far from Lara’s side is the cheeky Dynamite Darcy, who Lara adopted in 2017, and her recent rescue dog, Vindi, who is flourishing in his role alongside Darcy as a canine co-host on Pooches at Play.