Trainer Academy|by trainers for trainers!

Raul Novelo will never forget the first time that he saw a dolphin show, it was 1977 and he was eight years old when he visited the Miami Seaquarium. According to his mother, he stayed by the dolphin pool forever and might still be there if she hadn’t dragged him away!
In 1991 Raul graduated with a degree in Business Administration. In 1995 Raul was first hired at Via Delphi in X’caret Park and then went on to do an internship at Dolphin Quest, Bermuda.
Raul first found his career after he met Shelley and Mike Wood of Dolphin Discovery and ABC Animal Training during the regional IMATA conference in Mexico.
In 2002 Raul began his career with Dolphin Discovery Mexico and has extensive experience in British Virgin Islands working as Senior Trainer at both Dolphin Discovery location in Antigua and Anguilla and as Supervisor at both Dolphin Discovery locations in Tortola and Cayman.

Raul with dolphn calf at Dolphin Discovery Tortola

Yah man!

Arriving on the British Virgin Islands for the very first time was one of the best experiences that I have ever had. Having four dolphins in my charge for basic training and making them feel comfortable in their new environment was a learning opportunity every single day. Even though I am experienced with dolphins, this represented a big challenge for me.

Raul training a golden hand tamarin monkey Dolphin Discovery

Training was just a small part of the experience that helped me to sharpen my skills and to become the person and trainer that I am today.
What really taught me how to be a trainer was, on a daily basis, living in a new place, in a different culture, with a huge diversity of races, plus having no guacamole! Even though I have lived in many places in the world, the Caribbean at that time, was a different experience for me; it was way too laid back. For instance, the exasperating attitude of; “Don’t worry, yah man, tomorrow will be ready”, when you really needed it yesterday!
My point being, if you don’t open yourself up to new opportunities and learn from them, you will never be able to find a way to get the best out of the circumstances that you encounter. No matter what, without exception, you can always find something worthwhile to learn.
You must believe in yourself and your dreams. It’s really easy to say but once you have it in the forefront of your thoughts, things do turn out differently, and believe me - it’s true!
What is your goal in life and what are your dreams? For sure you must first have an idea, then follow it, fight for it and do not let any obstacle steer you away from it, even to the point of quitting. Focus on your dream and make it happen.
We are always going to crash into something that we don’t like, that makes us feel uncomfortable or perhaps even something worse. Yeah, that’s for sure!
If you reach a stage where you feel you are breaking down, thinking “that is enough” or, that you do not deserve it, this is going to take you nowhere. You will not be thinking clearly and all the possibilities of success will fade away, therefore:
“I got stuck and I cannot do it”, will become part of your life.
Putting this attitude into a training scenario, these would be your thoughts while you are doing your job with the animals that you love the most. This wouldn’t be fair to them because there is always a little spark of opportunity in front of you and with an understanding of the scenario, you will get it.
This is what ABC is about; never to have the attitude of being closed to any option or having one of failure. That it teaches the best way to understand animals’ needs and how to see them, improving the animals’ life within any single session and even how to apply it to your fellow mates, remember that little spark is always in front of you.
Putting it this way - use the right criteria, according to the right scenario, through positive reinforcements. And then you will reach the next step!
In my case – my “Yah man” experience really helped me to grow as a person and being a part of ABC has made everything easier and taught me how to communicate in a better way with both animals and humans.

Raul training a tail splash Dolphin Discovery Cayman

To grasp it was not easy but Dolphin Discovery is a great family that offers extensive support and listens to your concerns.
ABC is a part of Dolphin Discovery. I am proud to say that I am a member of Dolphin Discovery and I love every single moment of my experience, there are so many stories to tell and all of them have a smile in them…..
Jeez, I just got goosebumps!
Cheers heaps Mates! Raul

Travel ban has been removed to Mexico and its really unbelievable the cheap deals for travel to Cancun. I just received this official notice from Mexico and wanted to pass it along. It has never been more economical to travel so… what are you waiting for?

• Many popular routes such as Cancun and Mexico City now have low fares with no advance purchase requirement and are valid for travel through a 330-day period,” said George Hobica, founder of Airfarewatchdog.com

• Cheap airfare is easy to find. Rates for non-stop round-trip flights from New York were as low as $270 to

• According to Cheapflights.com, great Mexico travel deals are everywhere; from all-inclusive packages with 40-70% discounts, Mexico is ready to welcome the summer!

• Japan and Germany join the governments of Argentina, Peru, Ecuador, Uruguay, Italy, Austria, Belgium, United Kingdom, Switzerland, United States and Canada in lifting its Travel advisories against travel to Mexico.

• The Scientific Committee on Sanitary and Epidemiological Surveillance of the México City Government (GDF) decided to down grade the alert from yellow to green.

• On Tuesday May 19th, Acapulco welcomed Royal Princess, the first cruise liner to arrive in Mexico after the Travel Alerts regarding the AH1N1 outbreak were lifted.

• Administrators at the University of Michigan ended the suspension of university-sponsored travel to Mexico, thus allowing students to participate in school-sponsored programs to Mexico.

• The value of the Mexican peso versus the American dollar gives Americans the advantage with more bang for their buck with 12.85 pesos to one US dollar.

• “The AH1N1 Virus is not a Mexican problem; it is a global problem…The Mexican people should be commended and congratulated by the international community for placing the health and safety of its citizens and the world first, regardless of economic impact.” Bruce D. Greenberg

• Mexico information can be accessed through www.visitmexico.com or directly at www.mexico-update.com

• Tourism information and assistance: in the U.S1-800-44-MEXICO, in Europe 00-800-1111-2266, and in Mexico 078

ABC Dolphin Trainer Academy has great news. In accordance with our commitment to assisting students with their professional development and growth in the successful pursuit of an animal training career we are proud to announce that students may earn Continuing Education Units (CEU). University of Wisconsin Stevens Point (UWSP) has approved the ABC Dolphin Trainer Academy for 2. 72 CEU’s to be earned for the Basic workshop. Upon successful completion of the workshop students will receive a transcript from UWSP. The CEU’s are transferable to most other universities and some universities may accept the CEU’s as college credits. CEU’s are a valuable resource on your resume.

To receive the official transcript students simply need to contact:

Julie M. Hellweg, Program Manager
UWSP Continuing Education
Phone: 715-346-3730 Fax: 715-346-3504
email: [email protected]