Dog training, day care continue after Bruce Ringer, 'dog whisperer of Tarentum,' dies

Bruce D. Ringer’s love of dogs and his wife were manifest, and not surprisingly intertwined.

The longtime, legendary dog trainer, Ringer, 63, of Tarentum, died of colon cancer on Dec. 20.

He was a dog trainer for more than 35 years and opened the first doggie day care in Allegheny County. Ringer was the first nationally certified professional dog trainer, according to his family, and the first certified “dog nose work” instructor in Western Pennsylvania.

He participated in the search at the Flight 93 crash scene in Shanksville after the 9/11 attacks.

“We met over a German shepherd puppy,” said Kim Ringer, his wife of 37 years.

It was in 1977 that the couple met at the corner of Morgan Street and Ninth Avenue in Brackenridge when Bruce was out with his puppy.

“It’s a shepherd puppy?” Kim knowingly asked Bruce.

“You know it’s a shepherd puppy?” he said.

The couple never stopped talking and loving dogs.

“We’ve always had one — if not 10 — shepherds at one time,” she said. “The dogs are our kids.”

An Army veteran, Ringer was a certified welder and sheet metal worker.

But the couple opened Ringer’s Pet Dog Training in Tarentum in 1996, and then a second location in Harrison’s Natrona Heights.

“He was a kind soul who loved dogs, and we got to do what we loved,” Ringer said.

“It’s a 24-7 job,” said Ringer, who also is a certified dog trainer. She plans to continues classes and doggie day care.

An outpouring of grief came in the hundreds of internet posts, as close to 500 people sent their condolences by Thursday afternoon to the Ringers Dog Pet Training Facebook page. One local client wrote: “Bruce was a wonderful man. We always thought of him as the ‘dog whisperer of Tarentum.’ ”

Ringer is a 1975 graduate from Highlands High School. He is survived by his wife, Kim; his four dogs and many daycare dogs that were like family; his mother, Dorothy Ringer; sister, Barbara Cranfill, of Lakeland, Fla.; brother, Andrew Brian Ringer, of Anchorage, Alaska; nine nieces and nephews, and nine great-nieces and nephews.

As per Bruce Ringer’s wishes, there will be no public visitation. Robert Peters Funeral Home in Harrison is handling the arrangements. Condolences may be left online at Peters funeral home.

Memorial contributions for Bruce’s medical expenses can be mailed to Kim Ringer, 3041 Freeport Road, Natrona Heights, PA 15065, or made via Ringer’s Pet Dog Training Facebook page.

Kim Ringer set up a Facebook post and GoFundMe account seeking $20,000 in donations to pay for her husband’s medical bills. As of Thursday afternoon, nearly $7,000 had been raised.