All Trainers
Alex Bassett
Trainer
Alex’s love for dogs started at a young age when she read the A-Z dog breed books cover to cover. She told her family that she wanted to be a vegetarian at age six and attended veterinary camp at Washington State University when she was in seventh grade. Growing up, she volunteered at her local animal shelter, which allowed her to gain the confidence to handle dogs that outweighed her.
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Alex Chadesh
Trainer
Alex spent the majority of his childhood learning and mastering martial arts. He began instructing others while still in middle school, becoming an assistant instructor after attaining his first dan black belt. He continued to the learn and teach under his Master while in college, attaining his second dan black belt, and teaching classes of all ages. In addition to martial arts, Alex has a long history working in the
Read MoreAlexis Johnson
Territory Manager
Alexis grew up in a small town that time forgot, and it was her passion for dogs that has brought her to where she is today. She began her training career with her first Golden Retriever, which she trained to be a Therapy dog. Since then, Alexis has helped many families live cohesively with their K9 companions. She has an extensive history of playing softball starting at the young age
Read MoreAllyson Stewart
Territory Manager
Allyson’s most cherished childhood memories were helping her Aunt on the farm. What started as a chore evolved into her passion, as she quickly learned that she’d rather hang out with the animals than her classmates. When Allyson wasn’t at school, she would spend her days volunteering at an animal rescue or cuddling with her family dog. Allyson’s family always had multiple pets in the house. From the family dogs
Read MoreAmber Haseltine
Territory Manager
Amber grew up surrounded by dogs! Her love for them blossomed while she was in charge of their care growing up. When Amber got her first dog of her own, she wanted to turn an affinity for training and care for dogs into a career. Amber worked in customer service for over ten years and developed excellent communication and managerial skills. She attended Animal Behavioral College and became certified in
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Brooke Janke
Trainer
Brooke has always had a special place in her heart for dogs. Growing up in a pet loving family, Brooke was blessed to have several four legged family members that made her childhood feel complete. In addition to dogs, horses have also taken a large role in her life as she has also been a riding Instructor for the last 16 years and has competed most of her life. Driven
Read MoreBrooke Novotny
Territory Manager
Brooke grew up in the small town of Saint Michael, Pennsylvania. She has had a strong passion for caring for animals her whole life and always planned to make a career of it. She received her degree in Psychology with a concentration on animal behavior from Westminster College. Throughout High School and College, Brooke worked at a Dog Kennel and loved being around the animals every day. She was also
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Christina Bunner
Trainer
Christina has loved animals since she was a child. While most kids were watching cartoons, she was watching Animal Planet and reading every book she could find about animals. Her lifelong dream has been to make a career out of her love for animals. She has a master’s degree in Conservation Biology from the University of Central Florida. During her many years of school, when she wasn’t studying or working,
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Devon Oaks
Trainer
Devon's passion for animals and the outdoors started at a young age in his hometown of Mesa, Arizona. After honorably serving his country for eight years in the United States Army in Germany, Afghanistan, Texas, and Korea, Devon decided to pursue training dogs full time. As a loving father of two, it's his firm belief that there are no "bad dogs", just learned behaviors. Devon loves the unique challenge that
Read MoreErin Hansen
Territory Manager
Dogs and Education have been a part of Erin’s life since she was born. Both of her parents were teachers with a strong love and respect for dogs and animals of all kinds. They made sure that they instilled that in Erin at an early age. Erin taught at a high school for 10 years. after which she worked in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis geared mainly toward working
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Erin Hegeman
Trainer
Erin grew up in a small town in west-central Wisconsin. Her love of animals started at a young age. Her first dog was a Cocker Spaniel that her parents let her pick out at the local humane society for her second birthday. Growing up they opened their home to many rescue dogs including a yellow Lab, American Eskimo, and Australian Shepherd. Erin studied Environmental Science at the University of Minnesota
Read MoreGracie Reed
Trainer
Gracie was born in Amarillo, TX, and raised in the suburbs of the Houston Area. She has loved animals, especially dogs, her entire life. Ever since she was a kid, she dreamed of having a career where she was able to work with animals. After high school, she began working at a local pet store. There she learned tons of information about pet nutrition, training, and worked with pets and
Read MoreHolly Wengerski
Territory Manager
Holly has been an animal lover throughout her entire life. Growing up she had pet dogs, cats, snakes, lizards, turtles, and even a praying mantis! Being an only child the connection with her animals was always strong. As she grew she saw the opportunity to turn her passion into a career and pursued a degree in Animal Science. Holly graduated from Illinois State University and had the opportunity to work
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Ian Mccallister
Trainer
Ian grew up in Arlington Heights, Illinois, in a house with dogs of all shapes, sizes, and ages. His passion for working with dogs started with his father. He taught Ian how much dogs impacted his life and how much he could learn from them, which inspired Ian to pursue work with animals in his spare time. After high school, Ian went to Harper college to pursue child psychology while
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Jared Auday
Trainer
Jared has always loved dogs and first found his passion for training when his girlfriend was diagnosed with a cardiac condition that required a service dog. He dedicated his time to working with her service dog, Nala, and was fascinated by the impact on his girlfriend’s independence at the end of the training process. From this point on, Jared knew he wanted to make a career out of helping owners
Read MoreJax Jackson
Trainer
Jax has always had a deep love for animals. Their desire to create cooperative bonds between pets and people started early, with them training their rats to perform tricks! Jax has spent 17 years of their life riding and working with horses and gained some experience as a stablehand in high school and college. Jax spent some time working in a pet hotel and absolutely adored the time they spent
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Katelyn Anhalt
Territory Manager
Katelyn grew up on a small farm in SE Iowa where her love of animals began. At a young age she was showing sheep, goats, beef, and dairy cattle at the county and state fairs. She even taught her ram lamb “Smokey” to play basketball on the farm. After attending community college in Iowa for Veterinary Assistant and Animal Humane Officer; she went to Melbourne, Australia for Veterinary Nursing. Katelyn
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Kyle Lohman
Trainer
For as long as Kyle can remember, he has always wanted to work with animals. He grew up with dogs, cats, and even ferrets, just to mention a few. His mother has worked as a dog groomer for over 20 years, and growing up, he spent every summer at her shop. Kyle graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Accounting from Northern Illinois University, but began his career working with animals
Read MoreLauren Hauge
Territory Manager
Lauren grew up in a small town south of Milwaukee and attended the University of Wisconsin- La Crosse, where she earned a Community Health Education Degree. After college, she moved to Eau Claire, where she primarily worked with teenagers at the Boys & Girls Club, helping them to gain the tools and skills they need to be successful. Lauren is excited to be back in Milwaukee and have the opportunity
Read MoreLiliana Carpano
Trainer
Liliana began attending university, it didn't take long for her to realize she was far more passionate about her part-time job of walking dogs than she was about the degree she was studying. That passion only grew as she remained in the pet industry and eventually began fostering rescues. Her love for animals and desire to help people led her to Suburban K9, where she hopes to help keep dogs
Read MoreLilliana Calero
Territory Manager
Lilliana grew up in Pembroke Pines, Florida, and was always surrounded by animals and immediately grew a love for them. As she got older, her passion for animals never changed, and she made sure to put that passion into her career choice. While attending Florida State University, Lilliana studied biology, with a focus on animal sciences. During that time, she spent her free time working and helping animals in any
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Michael Isaac
Trainer
Originally from San Antonio, Michael was born and raised in South Central Texas. He’s had a passion for animals since childhood. Before he could have a furry friend of his own, he would frequently volunteer to help care for his neighbors’ pets. He moved to Austin in 2011 to pursue a Social Work degree at St. Edward’s University to counsel and be an advocate for children. Additionally, he participated in
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Mikayla Savage
Trainer
Mikayla was born and raised in Tampa, FL. Growing up, she could not have pets, but this did not stop her love for animals. She would often bring home injured or abandoned wildlife to care for a release, and she was always begging her mom to let her have a dog. Mikayla began college with a degree in nursing but quickly switched to Zoology. After several zoo internships, she moved
Read MoreMolly Juneau
Trainer
Molly’s passion for animals started at a very young age. She loved helping animals and people. Throughout her life, she has focused a lot of her free time on pet sitting, fostering animals, and volunteering at rescue and wildlife centers. Molly has a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology from Grand Valley State University, which led her to opportunities in marine mammal training. She participated in internships in Florida to train and
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Nelson Medrano
Media Production Specialist and Trainer
Nelson comes from a family with a strong tradition of dog training; both his father and brother are dog trainers. While Nelson was growing up, his father was a hunting dog trainer and he would tag along as his father taught clients both basic and advanced hunting skills. Nelson would help with the dogs as much as he could and saw firsthand how happy the dogs would be when given
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Nick Smoots
Trainer
Nick Smoots is a Chicago native and an avid dog lover! He was surrounded by pets all his life and has always had a soft spot for animals! Last year, he adopted a two-year-old Pitbull mix named Juno. Nick discovered his passion for working with animals when Juno went through training with Suburban K9. He saw a complete 180 in her behavior in a short amount of time as the
Read MoreRose Pierce
Trainer
Rose was born and raised in Houston, TX, and for as long as she can remember there have always been dogs in her life. With several years of retail experience she eventually landed herself inside of a holistic pet store which flared up her passion for pets to an entirely new level. Rose found herself enamored with every furry friend she got to meet and with every pet parent she
Read MoreSabrina Lopez
Territory Manager
Sabrina spent the majority of her childhood surrounded by family dogs. Her parents adopted the first of many dogs when Sabrina was just 3 years old. Sabrina took a lead roll in loving and working with the dogs from a young age. In addition to spending time with the family dogs she loved running cross-country and track. Sabrina has a long history of making customers happy. She spent years working
Read MoreSalina Witte
Territory Manager
Salina has had a passion for animals since she was young. Coming from a family with a background in farming, animals where always around. Her first job was feeding and caring for baby calves at a large dairy farm. There she learned the ins and outs of caring for 200 calves. At the age of nineteen she purchased her first horse Magic where delved into riding and training. Since then
Read MoreSamantha Doig
Territory Manager
Born and raised in Plainfield, IL, Samantha had a lot of different pets, which fueled her love of animals. Her passion turned into a profession when she majored in Zoology and Psychology at Western Illinois University. She loved learning about the different ways animals think, behave, and interact with their environment. Her studies led her to work with animals in a multitude of environments. Samantha has worked at several wildlife
Read MoreShelby Adkins
Territory Manager
Shelby has loved animals her entire life. In the first grade, she started working on farms during the weekend to earn horse riding lessons. She would take care of horses, pigs, birds, sheep, cows, dogs, and cats. She enjoyed the work just as much as the reward. Shelby’s family moved around a lot when she was in school. She begged her parents for a dog of her own for years,
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Shelby Naab
Trainer
Shelby grew up in a suburb of Milwaukee with two animal-loving parents. Her mother started her love for dogs and her father, her passion for horses. Shelby spent most of her summers working on farms or at horse camps. Quickly realizing that animals were her lifelong passion, she went to college for Animal Science at UMN. After graduating, she managed two therapeutic riding barns for a few years, then moved
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Twila Johnson
Trainer
Twila was born and raised in Houston, Texas, and has been an animal lover from the very beginning. She has had pets her whole life - even a hedgehog! As an Animal Science major at Texas A&M, she found every opportunity to work with animals she could. Twila also spent a semester in the Kentucky Bluegrass region as a Thoroughbred Breeding Farm intern. By her senior year, she was
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Walker King
Trainer
Walker grew up on a cattle ranch in Louisiana and surrounded himself with animals his entire life. Living in a rural area with plenty of space and time, he had lots of one-on-one time with dogs in his work and personal life. At a very young age, Walker picked out his very first dog at the local animal shelter, but some would say that Hunter chose him. He also trained
Read MoreZachary Westfall
Trainer
A Florida native, Zachary discovered his love for animals at a young age. He took any opportunity to be around animals, which led him to begin horseback riding and volunteer work. Through volunteering, he was hired as a barn manager at a therapeutic riding facility and learned many skills necessary to manage the horses, volunteers, and facility effectively. Not only did he gain managerial experience from this job, but Zachary
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Matt Covey
Company Founder
Having grown up in a family that spent their time breeding and showing dogs, it was only natural that Matt’s long time passion for dogs turned into his profession. Matt’s training skills have given him the opportunity to train for celebrities such as Antonio Davis of the Chicago Bulls and Bobby Simmons of the Milwaukee Bucks. Matt’s reputation also allowed him the incredible opportunity to work as the head dog
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Matt Wlos
Head of Technology and Operations
Matt Wlos grew up around computers and technology; his father was instrumental in creating the early course registration system for the University of Illinois. Having a computer and internet access in the home prior to any of his classmates he was able to create webpages and other basic computer programs while still in junior high. He pursued his childhood passion of working with technology and graduated with a degree in
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Blake Baker
Software Specialist
Although Blake never had the opportunity to grow up with any pets, he still loves every encounter that crosses his path with any kind of pup. Born and raised in Florida, Blake is a recent graduate from the University of North Florida with a degree in Information Technology. And while he had some idea of what kind of job he wanted fresh out of college, most jobs were just missing that
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Jessica Tritthardt
Human Resources Manager
Jessica grew up in a home that always had several animals rooming around. Her family home included four-legged friends such as dogs, cats, hamsters, and a rabbit. She has loved animals for as long as she can remember, which is why she worked at Petco starting in High School, all the way through college! Jessica graduated from Illinois State University with a Bachelor of Science in Education and spent years
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Rachel Woods
Human Resources Coordinator
Some consider themselves to be cat people, while others consider themselves to be dog people; Rachel grew up in households with both, so she considers herself a “bipartisan” animal lover. Born and raised in Pittsburgh, she loved taking advantage of opportunities that appealed to her affinity for animals, including taking an intensive Animal Behavior course that led to some incredible encounters with elephants, giraffes, monkeys, and more. She has been
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Maggie Deemer
Director of Training
Maggie started her career with Suburban K9 many years back as a dog trainer and continued to grow with the company! Within the next year, she was promoted to the Milwaukee territory manager and is now the Director of Training at Suburban K9! She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminology with a minor in Psychology. Ever since Maggie was four years old, there has always been a dog or two
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Macy Abraham
Marketing
Macy grew up in rural Wisconsin, where she raised beef cattle, pigs, goats, bunnies, dogs, and many cats. She recently graduated from the University of Wisconsin - River Falls receiving a Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness, with an emphasis on Marketing Communications. In her spare time, she enjoys boating, waterskiing, snowmobiling, attending concerts, and spending time outside! She currently has two dogs, Ellie (Golden Retriever) and a waterfowl dog named
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Jeanne Dellagardele
Customer Service Representative
Jeanne loves helping prospective clients learn about our services and schedule training. She grew up in Iowa and moved to Chicago shortly after graduating from Clarke University in Dubuque, Iowa. She and her husband moved to Brookfield, Illinois not long after their son was born. Jeanne previously worked at Crain's Chicago Business as an administrative assistant. She enjoys gardening, hiking, cooking, and baking bread. Along with her husband and son,
Read MoreMiranda Pavnica
Customer Service Representative
Miranda grew up having many dogs in her family. That love grew as she got older, which led to adopting and caring for multiple dogs throughout the years! Miranda attended Florida SouthWestern State College where she studied Early Childhood Education. After graduating, she taught at a local elementary school where she was able to share her love of dogs and animals with her students. Since moving from Florida to the
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Kristine Meyer
Customer Service Representative
Kristine grew up around dogs, cats, and horses, so animals have always had a special place in her heart. Throughout her life she has lived in Iowa, Minnesota, Michigan, California and Illinois. Before working at Suburban K9, she worked for many years in customer service with a jewelry store. She also received her Master’s Degree in Social Work and used her degree to run a group home for 10 years
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Stephany Douglass
Front Desk Manager
Stephany grew up in Mesa, Arizona, and Dallas, Georgia. Over the years, she had all different kinds of pets, from horses to dogs and cats, and even some ferrets. These pets have helped Stephany understand that every animal has a unique way of learning and loving. She began working with animals at a young age, as she trained and interned at a local horse rescue and county animal shelter. She
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Lenny Szatkowski
Director of the Suburban K9 Academy
Lenny has always been a dog lover and knew early on that he wanted a career with dogs. He became a trainer with Suburban K9 in 2009 while still attending college at Northern Illinois University. Lenny quickly excelled as both a trainer and a student, eventually graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. Over the years he became an expert in dealing with difficult dogs and training off leash.
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Kaitlin Butler
Customer Service Representative
Kaitlin's love of animals and helping others has always been a priority in not only her personal life, but her professional life as well. Her career in the animal industry began with her very first job at a doggy daycare and grooming facility. Once realizing animal welfare was her passion, Kaitlin spent the next seven years dedicated to shelter medicine and finding homeless pets their “furever” homes. Her interest then
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Marci Condon
Customer Service Representative
Marci was 15 when she got her first dog, Babe. After that she was hooked. Since then she has had many dogs and currently has a rescue Bichon Frise, Corey. Corey has brought so much joy into her family’s lives and is currently looking to rescue another dog. She has a husband and 2 boys in college. Her hobbies include crafting and working in the yard. She loves going to
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Joy Palmer
Logistics Manager
Joy grew up in Joliet, Illinois. After spending a few years in Iowa, she returned to the area where she was raised to meet and marry her husband. They now live in the warm and sunny suburbs of Orlando, FL. Joy has been around dogs all her life and currently has a Great Dane that she absolutely adores! Joy has worked as a hairstylist and a florist before joining the Suburban K9 team. It is so amazing
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