Explore the many talents and life of Michael Gray.

About me.

I was born and raised in the small town of Santa Paula, CA. Santa Paula is located just a few minutes East of Ventura, nestled in the foothills of Ventura County. Our town is known for its agriculture "Citrus capital of the world", primarily Avocados, Lemons and Oranges. We also have a great community airport in Santa Paula, known as the "Antique Airplane Capitol of the World". I spent a lot of time at that airport as a kid dreaming of the day I could one day become a pilot myself, doing everything I could to make that dream a reality. I worked at CP Aviation, Santa Paula Flight Center, Venco Pacific Aviation, Logsdons - The Airport Restaurant and Café and any other odd job I could pick up to make enough money to fly. After squeezing in the time to study and fly, I finally earned my Private Pilots License. My goal after that was to build as much flight time as possible and continue training. While attending Ventura College all I could think about was flying and how could I speed up the process and save some money on aircraft rentals? I decided to delay college and bought an airplane. I had some of the best adventures flying that airplane all over the place, creating life long memories and building up my flight hours. Unfortunately, the airline industry had one of the biggest slowdowns ever, pilots were getting laid off and there was no hiring expected for anytime in the foreseeable future. I sold my airplane to a friend of mine who had just lost his flying job and decided to move on to the next chapter in my life. Around 1994, another one of my hobbies had turned into a business, California Custom Aquatics. I turned my love of aquariums, ponds and waterfalls into a business of setting up and maintaining aquariums, ponds and waterfalls in businesses and homes. Having worked at pet shops when younger and winning awards for some of my creations, I was approached by a company called Aquaria Corporation (Marineland Products). I was asked to come work for them as an ambassador for their company for sales, events and trade shows. I was known as an industry expert in the field of fish. That led to the start of working random sets in the movie industry providing fish expertise to famous movies, tv shows, ads and commercials. Eventually, California Custom Aquatics morphed into Pacific Cast Stone, a precast stone manufacturing company. We manufactured some of the best precast concrete products on the market, working on multi-million dollar projects, resorts, wineries and luxury homes. It was a fantastic business until around 2007, when the market collapsed during the great recession/housing bubble. In 2008 I became a K9 Handler, primarily conducting Narcotics searches in the school systems. It was fun and a meaningful job, knowing that you were able to remove drugs from the school system, possibly saving somebody's life. I enjoyed working K9, so I looked for another position in that industry. That is where I secured a position with Pacific Shield as a Bomb Dog Handler. a much more serious and intense position, but was able to see and do a lot of things most people cant. We worked for places like Boeing, NASA-JPL, LAX, NASCAR, NFL, MLB, NBA, SEMA, Tournament of Roses Parade, Los Vegas Convention Center, Los Angeles Convention Center, Oil Refineries, Large Venue Concerts like Coachella, Stagecoach, Raves, and much more. The company ended up selling to a much larger company MSA. I was asked to stay on until MSA could fill all of the positions with its people, since MSA only hires Military and Law Enforcement. Still enjoying working as a handler and no openings out there in that line of work, I decided to open my own K-9 Company, U.S. Detection Dogs. U.S. Detection Dogs handled Narcotics and Explosive K9's, but I decided to try training something new "Bed Bug Dogs". Bed Bug Dogs were such a hit that it ended up being over 80% of the detection business. Our searches and business was nearly doubling every year from where we began, thanks to these nasty little insects and our well trained K9's. We had a approx. 7000 Square foot facility where we housed and trained the dogs. We added a grooming department to keep our dogs clean and smelling good for the inspections, we also opened that up to the public. Everything was going great until the Pandemic and Covid-19 raised its ugly head. Everything came to a stop, except the bills. We kept everything going in hopes that this would be a short term event, with the hopes we could get back to work soon. Unfortunately, I recently had to shut the doors on the facility due to the market never recovering for this industry. Now I find myself wondering what is next, and ready to start a new chapter in life.

Hobbies

Flying, Photography, Surfing, Travel, Cooking & Eating, Wakeboarding, Hiking, Fishing, Kayaking, Snowboarding, Skiing, Gardening, Camping

Professional Summary

Passionate Private pilot and UAV pilot, aviation support specialist with over 20 years of experience in flight line service, canine detection, and business operations. FAA Part 107 certified with strong technical expertise in drone operation, photography, and videography. Proven leadership running multiple successful businesses and leading public safety volunteer programs. Adept at problem-solving, team management, and delivering high-quality service in both aviation and security environments.

Certifications

FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate

Cert#: 1542246-20240509-00451

FAA Private Pilots license

Drone & Media Skills

• UAV/UAS Operations

• Aerial Photography & Videography

• Photo and Video Editing & Post-Production

• Digital Media & Social Media Marketing

• Creative Problem Solving & Storyboarding

Professional Experience

Owner & CEO, U.S. Detection Dogs

Santa Paula, CA | 2010 – Present

• Founded and operated a full-service K9 detection facility.

• Trained canines in narcotics, explosives, and bed bug detection.

• Conducted thousands of successful detection operations across diverse environments.

• Led marketing and business development until Covid-19 impacted operations.

Explosive Detection Canine Handler, Pacific Shield K-9 / MSA K-9

Various Locations | 2009 – 2016

• Performed bomb detection sweeps at high-security venues: LAX, NASA-JPL, Boeing, sports events (NFL, NBA, MLB), conventions, concerts.

• Maintained safety and readiness under demanding conditions.

Narcotics Detection Handler, Interquest Detection K-9

CA School Systems | 2008 – 2009

• Conducted narcotics inspections in educational institutions.

• Promoted drug-free environments and collaborated with school officials.

Owner, Pacific Cast Stone / CCA

Southern California | 1994 – 2007

• Managed all aspects of a premier architectural precast manufacturing company.

• Served luxury estates, resorts, wineries, and commercial clients.

• Oversaw design, sales, production, and project delivery.

Aviation & Ground Operations Experience

Line Service Technician, Venco Pacific Aviation

Oxnard, CA | 1993 – 1994

• Provided FBO line services to hangar clients.

• Fueled commercial and general aviation aircraft.

• Monitored radio traffic and ensured aircraft readiness.

Line Service Technician, Santa Paula Flight Center

Santa Paula, CA | 1990 – 1993

• Maintained and serviced rental aircraft.

• Managed scheduling, customer service, and pilot support.

Line Service Technician, CP Aviation

Santa Paula, CA | 1988 – 1990

• Provided fueling and cleanliness services.

• Monitored tarmac safety and maintained facilities.

Community Involvement

• Santa Paula Police Department — VIP / Citizens Patrol (2007 – Present)

• Santa Paula Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) — Team President (2006 – Present)

• Santa Paula Citizens Corps Council (2009 – Present)

Additional Skills

• Leadership & Management

• Critical Thinking

• Sales & Business Strategy

• Customer Service Excellence

• Team Collaboration

Portions of this site are still under construction.

★★★★★