 |
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 Pet Care Services
Association (PCSA), 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 deeply knowledgeable about the husbandry and
medical aspects of pet animal care. Angie is also on the Board of
Directors for the
Obedience Club of Chattanooga and the
Prater's Mill Foundation.
Angie is discovering her inner terrier with her two Westies,
Mic and
Rudy. She also has an Australian
Shepherd named Kate, and and Australian Cattle Dog named Kyle.
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 7 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.
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 both little dogs in flyball. Be has been
awarded Certified Pet Care Technician by the American Boarding Kennels
Association.
Leanne Lyon (since 03/06): No one at PDX could
have a more fitting last name. Leanne Lyon has a passionate concern for
welfare issues pertaining to captive exotics and animals used in
entertainment. In the ‘90s, she traveled to Kenya and Tanzania to study
wildlife, and later volunteered at an exotic-animal sanctuary in Nevada.
In between, she built a 30-year career with the state of Tennessee,
including developing a pet therapy program for patients at the Moccasin
Bend Mental Health Institute. The leader of the Little Dog Land pack at
PDX – and alpha mom to her own dog,
Peeve --
Leanne says she loves to cuddle her petite charges, and that the
experience of getting to know both them and their owners has been rich
and gratifying.
Ashley Pinkleton (since 03/06): Ashley Pinkleton
is a Big Dog Caretaker who's been with PDX for four years. Ashley says
she likes being at PDX because there's always something new happening,
whether it's new dogs joining the PDX pack or new challenges to explore,
but her favorite aspect of her job is the relationship she's able to
form with the dogs, such as the one she has with Kenya, her own lab mix.
A certified lifeguard and swimming coach, Ashley loves water sports and
outdoor activities, and is currently pursuing certification in canine
body massage. When she's not dealing with dogs and shadowing PDX
training director Nancy Miller, she's with her two-year-old daughter,
Shyia. 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
Agility
Foundations and
Manners
Matter classes here at PDX. Nancy Cambron
(since 01/08): Nancy works part-time as a daycare teacher in Little Dog
Land, and is also a professional dog trainer. Nancy has always been
fascinated by dog behavior, so much so that she’s made a career out of
trying to change or better it. And, between an educational background in
training along with positions as an obedience instructor and new-trainer
instructor, Nancy has learned -- and taught -- much. She says her goal
is to help owners to teach their dogs new behaviors, which she does as
an instructor of PDX’s Really Reliable Recall, Pullers Anonymous,
S.T.A.R Puppy and Canine Good Citizen/Therapy Dog classes. When she’s
not helping PDX customers’ pups to excel, Nancy coaches her border
collie, Luke, in agility training, and her border collie, Danny, in
rally obedience and flyball. Nancy earned Certified Professional Dog
Trainer status from the American Association of Pet Dog Trainers in
2001. Amanda Bowers (since 06/08): Not
only is Amanda Bowers PDX’s Kennel Lead and Daycare-dog Caretaker, but
she’s also the two-legged pack leader to her four Jack Russell Terriers
-- Chloe, Colby, Casey and Geminia. Read that again: FOUR Jack Russell
Terriers! Amanda brings a background in working with special needs’
children to her role at PDX, where her patience, empathy and kindness
are appreciated enormously by both her canine charges, and her human
customers and colleagues. She says the highlight of her job is not only
playing with and learning from the dogs, but also watching them arrive
each morning full of playful anticipation, and reunite happily (and
tiredly!) each evening with their owners. When she’s not at PDX, Amanda
enjoys drawing, babysitting and dog-sitting.
Katherine Taylor-Worth (since 08/08): Proud owner of Hal, the
infamous Labralott (mix one part Labrador with one part Plotthound –
voila!), Katherine is PDX’s PhD when it comes to
computer know-how, but more importantly, as our receptionist
extraordinaire, she’s the friendly face at the front door. Katherine
believes learning how to interact well with dogs – which she says is one
of the best parts of her job – can go a long way toward teaching us how
to be better people. Her skill with the canine crowd not only comes from
her PDX experience, but also from growing up with no fewer than five
dogs in the family at any given time; from parents who bred bulldogs;
and from her mother, who is an experienced dog trainer.
Mary Leffler (since 09/08): To say that Mary loves
dogs is the understatement of the century. In fact, she says the very
best part of being a daycare provider at PDX is being able to pet dogs
all day long. Her compassion for animals, she says, not only comes from
growing up with dogs, but also from being raised in a loving family
where practicing and sharing kindness was a way of life. A Tucson,
AZ-based computer tech in her pre-PDX life (WAS there life before
PDX??), Mary is now retired, meaning she gets to spend her time with us,
her daughter, and with her two beloved dogs, Jett and Boo.
Laticia Coonrod (since 06/09): Laticia not only
gives lots of TLC to PDX’s canine boarding guests, but also dotes on her
own pups, Prince GG the Dachshund mix and Benji the Maltese mix. Now
training to be a veterinary technician, Laticia says one of the
highlights of her job is building relationships each of the PDX dogs,
but in particular, the boarding dogs that she cares for daily. Prior to
joining PDX, Laticia worked as a kennel tech for another pet-care
facility in Chattanooga, so she brings lots of hands-on experience to
her current position. In her free time, Laticia volunteers for the Human
Education Society. Lee Hilt (since
11/09): Lee turned his childhood wish to work with dogs into a reality
when he joined the PDX staff in 2009. Lee works with the big dogs in
daycare during the week, and helps out in the kennel on weekends. Lee
says that the best part of his job is interacting with the dogs. Lee’s
dog, King, helps ensure that Lee gets lots of canine companionship and
exercise. An avid basketball fan, Lee not only enjoys watching and
playing the game, but he’s also been involved with basketball camps at
McCallie School. And more, with bios to come!
- Glady (since 01/10): part-time Front Office
PDX Training Class Instructors:
We are indeed blessed to have so many wonderful
folks helping us make it all come together! |
|
