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About Us
Play Dog Excellent, Inc. opened for business on December 27,
2004. In January of 2008, we changed over to a Limited Liability
Corporation (LLC) with three partners: Bev Eitner, Nancy Miller, and
Angie Jennings are all on the hook for providing world-class service and a full
range of options for dog lovers in the Chattanooga area and beyond. We
are members of the Association of Professional Dog Trainers (APDT),
the American Boarding Kennel Assocation (ABKA), and we are active in the
Obedience Club of Chattanooga. We attend
educational seminars as often as possible, and train and compete in dog sports including Rally, Freestyle, Flyball,
Obedience, Tracking, Agility, and Herding.
Nancy
Miller (since 11/04): Nancy is a Managing Partner at PDX, in
charge of daycare and training. She has been
training dogs for more than 20 years, and has an extensive background in canine nutrition and its effects on health and behavior,
proper care and handling of dogs, dealing with aggression, and reading
body language. Known as Chattanooga's own Dog Whisperer, Nancy has
competed in conformation, obedience, rally, freestyle, and agility. She has
four Boxers of her own: Sassie, two permanent foster dogs:
Gretchen and
Bonnie,
and the next generation, Choochoo's Call My Bluff aka
Kruzer.
Although she has the undying devotion of the entire PDX pack, she has a
special affinity for those "smush-faced"
dogs (French Bulldogs, Pugs, and Boxers), and can often be found with
one or more at
her heels or in her lap.
Angie Jennings
(since 06/07):
Angie is a Managing Partner in PDX LLC, in charge of the kennel,
grooming, and retail operations. Angie has a wealth of experience in many areas, from firefighting
to landscaping, but her true passion is in the medical arena. She was
the
Practice Manager for the Animal Hospital of Whitfield County for
20-something years. She is a Registered Veterinary Technician, groomer
extraordinaire, and a champion for the very young and very old. Angie
is an over-achiever who sets the bar for over-achievers. When she's not running around
over-achieving, she might be found in the arena working with her West
Highland White Terriers, Mic and Rudy, two of the very few performance Westies on the planet.
Angie claims to be a herding dog person at heart,
but Mic and Rudy have helped her unleash her inner terrier.
Bev Eitner
(since 11/04): Bev is a Managing Partner, in charge of administration
and events. Her background is in information technology, specializing in
collaboration and workgroup systems. Bev moved from New Jersey to
Tennessee in 2002, escaping the comfortable numbness of Corporate
America in exchange for the roller-coaster insanity that is small
business. She has been working with dogs for only 6 years, but has
learned much, and is currently competing in Agility, Rally, Obedience, and Flyball with her
A-dog, Belgian Tervuren,
Cris. More recently, she
ventured over to the dark side (that's what dog people call it when you
get a Border Collie) with
Evil's daughter, Cate. Only time will tell how all that works out!
Be Hudson
(since 11/04): Be is the Director of First Impressions
at PDX, which is a fancy way of saying she runs the front office and schmoozes with local vets. Be is a clinical hypnotherapist, regression
therapist, retreat leader, and yoga teacher. All of which is interesting
and impressive, but ultimately has nothing to do with dog daycare. So, she
is a student again, learning much about dogs and their behavior. Her
major teacher is a terrier named
PDQ,
and Noelle the Shih-Poo. She has trained PDQ through his AKC Canine Good Citizen certification, and is currently
competing with him in flyball
and learning about the awesome sport of canine freestyle. Be has been
awarded Certified Pet Care Technician by the American Boarding Kennels
Association.
Leanne Lyon (since 03/06): Leanne was a daycare customer (her
dog is the magnificent Peeve) who made the mistake of mentioning her
impending retirement from the HR area for the State of TN, and
subsequently found herself signing W4s and I9s. Some retirement! Leanne
is now full-time, and loving working with the small dogs, keeping them
safe and busy, and playing all sorts of little dog games.
Ashley Pinkleton (since 03/06): Ashley works part time
with the big dogs, part time as a student at UTC, part time pet-sitting,
and part time rescuing all manners of dogs, cats, and exotics from
desperate straits. Ashley continues to build on the "dog wall" in the
PDX foyer, her brilliantly-conceived project to
showcase PDX our daycare and class dogs in their home. Be sure to bring those 4x6 or
5x7 pictures in for her! Julie Jones-Thornton
(since 05/06):
Julie left her Corporate America job as an HR professional, disenchanted
by the dearth of ethics and the lack of personal gratification and
fulfillment. Something about spending a third of her life doing
something she didn’t particularly enjoy for people that she didn’t
particularly like led her to dogs as a better choice. Julie has worked
in the past as dog training instructor for PetSmart, and has completed
her certification from the Animal Behavior College.
Julie works full-time with the big dogs, and teaches the
Puppy Manners,
Puppy Intermediate, and
Canine Good Citizen/Therapy
Dog classes here at PDX. Billy Bond
(since 01/07): hails from right here in Chattanooga, and has brought a
sparkle to the place that we didn’t even know was missing. He is in the
Army National Guard, and served in Iraq. He is married, and has 3
adopted children plus one brand new baby boy as of March 1st 2007. We
had some concerns about the feasibility of working a man into the pack
hierarchy since several of our daycare dogs come from rescue situations
and have fear issues with men. We shouldn’t have been concerned: Billy
has a wonderful way with the dogs, whether leaping and cavorting right
along with them, or giving them the space and time they need to make up
their own minds.
Updates, with bios to come!
- Chelsea Carvour (since 03/07): part time cleaning
and reception
- Nancy Cambron (since 01/08): part-time with Little
Dogs and class instructor
- Clynton Gourlay (since 05/08): part-time with Big
Dogs
- Brad Wilson (since 05/08): part-time bordering on
full-time with Big Dogs
- Amanda Bowers (since 06/08): part-time headed
toward overtime with Big Dogs & Kennel
Honorary PDX Staffers: tireless advocates and
Patrons of the Barks
- Beverly Grove (and sometimes George, although
golf takes precedence, naturally)
- Becca Bromley (aka Clara Belle or Maw Barker)
- Laura Bell (and her Brat)
- Julie Nixon (who could start her own daycare with
Lucky, Star, Bugs, & Zippy)
- Judy Franck (and sometimes Duffy, although he
won't admit it)
- Lynn Jochym
- Nan Payne
- Sandra Curtis (and the beautiful, talented, and
resilient Sadie Curtis)
- David Weaver
- Barbara Favreau
- Nichole Stewart (yes, and Michael too!)
We are indeed blessed to have so many wonderful
folks helping us make it all come together! |
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