How Arden Moore Brought Pet First Aid Training Online With Graphy
In this article
In this article
From teaching with Kona the dog and Casey the cat in classrooms across 16 U.S. states to building a global digital classroom, Arden Moore proves that expertise and empathy can scale when paired with the right platform.
Arden Moore’s success snapshot
in pet first aid
for in-person workshops
on free educational content
launching self-paced courses
A teacher with a mission
In 2011, Arden Moore founded Pet First Aid for You with one goal: to save pets’ lives by preparing their humans. Armed with veterinary-approved training and her therapy pets — Kona the dog and Casey the cat — she began teaching pet first aid and CPR. These weren’t ordinary classes. Attendees watched live as Arden demonstrated life-saving techniques on her well-trained animals, turning abstract concepts into practical skills.
Over time, Arden’s reputation grew. She wrote 27 books on pet care, became a “Fear-Free Certified Speaker,” and launched Oh Behave — the longest-running weekly pet podcast in the world. She spoke at conferences, traveled to 16 U.S. states to teach, and eventually reached students in places as far as Cairo, South Africa, and Europe through Zoom.
Yet even as demand rose, Arden faced a challenge she couldn’t solve with books, podcasts, or conference halls: she couldn’t be everywhere at once.
The challenge: Scaling care beyond geography
Pet first aid is a life-saving bridge between “uh-oh” and “the vet will see you now.” Arden taught her students how to stop arterial bleeding, perform CPR, or help a choking cat — skills that could mean the difference between life and death in the critical minutes before veterinary care.
The demand was undeniable. Pet professionals — veterinarians, groomers, boarding facilities, pet sitters — wanted their staff certified. Arden herself had already trained over 500 instructors and taught thousands of pet parents each year, with her total reach climbing toward 20,000 people.
But demand outpaced her availability. “I can’t be in 17 places at one time,” she admits. Zoom helped, but scheduling across time zones and balancing travel made it unsustainable. What she needed wasn’t just another way to teach live — it was a way to let people learn anytime, anywhere.
The turning point
That realization pushed Arden to explore self-paced courses. The idea wasn’t new — it had been “on the radar” for years — but the pandemic and increasing global requests made it urgent.
After testing different platforms, she landed on Graphy. The decision wasn’t about flashy features; it was about support and simplicity. Arden didn’t see herself as a “tech person” and needed a platform that would handle the complexity so she could focus on what mattered most: teaching.
Building with Graphy
In June 2025, Arden launched two self-paced courses:
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Dog & Cat First Aid + CPR (5 modules + quizzes)
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Cat-Only First Aid + CPR (5 modules + quizzes)
With Graphy, she was able to:
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Film with her pets: Kona and Casey feature in demonstrations, making lessons engaging and memorable.
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Structure learning paths: Each module ends with a quiz. Students must pass before moving on, ensuring knowledge retention.
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Deliver instant certification: On completion, learners automatically receive a two-year certificate — critical proof for employers training their staff.
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Serve companies as well as individuals: Boarding facilities, grooming salons, and pet-sitting businesses can now certify entire teams on their own schedule.
The result? A training program that works just as well for an individual pet parent as it does for a professional organization.
The secret sauce
What makes Arden’s courses resonate isn’t just the curriculum — it’s her teaching style. She believes learning sticks when it’s fun, practical, and jargon-free.
During one filming session, Casey the cat looked straight into the camera mid-Heimlich demonstration, seemingly bored. Instead of editing it out, the producer kept it. Arden laughed and said, “Am I boring you, Casey?” The moment broke the tension, and her point landed: pets don’t always cooperate, and real-life training has to account for that.
It’s this blend of serious skills and lighthearted delivery that keeps students engaged. “You learn when you’re having fun,” Arden says. “And you remember what to do when the teaching feels practical and human.”
Expert corner: Arden’s advice to creators
Arden knows the hurdles of moving online — and she has clear advice for others considering the leap:
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Diversify your delivery.
People learn in different ways. Live classes, interactive Zooms, and self-paced modules give learners more options — and fewer excuses not to learn. -
Pick a platform with support.
“I’m not a tech person, but Graphy’s team was always there. That matters when your job is teaching, not fixing software.” -
Structure builds confidence.
“Quizzes after every module ensure students don’t just watch — they actually learn.” -
Keep it simple.
Don’t overcomplicate your tech. With Graphy, everything’s in one place — courses, live classes, app access. That simplicity means I can focus on teaching, not troubleshooting.
Why it matters
To Arden, teaching pet first aid isn’t just a niche business. It’s a way of honoring the bond between humans and animals.
“You can show your dog love with treats and vacations,” she says. “But the best way to show you truly love them is knowing what to do when minutes count.”
This mission — empowering pet parents and professionals to act when it matters most — is what drives her, and why her courses have become essential training for so many.
Looking ahead
Arden isn’t stopping with two courses. With her first Graphy launches complete, she’s already planning additional programs. She wants to expand globally, reaching audiences in regions where pet first aid is still underrecognized.
“I always want to be a student and a teacher,” she says. “That means learning new ways to share and creating new courses so more people are prepared. With Graphy, I finally have the reach to make that happen.”
