Send the right signals, get the right results.
Our staff is well trained and educated in dog related fields (psychology, animal behavior, behavior modification, etc). The best way to teach a dog is to properly train the person who will be teaching them. We are proud of the fact that our turnover is very low and you will have the opportunity to get to know the staff well. Some of our staff have been at DGH several years and have watched our dogs grow up. We strive for positive long term relationships with both our dogs and clients.
A little about the two-legged creatures at DGH:
Megan Joy (MJ) Henricks
Manager
For the past year and a half MJ has managed Dog Gone Happy with a sturdy hand maintaining the quality of care and service DGH regulars have come to expect. After the business was sold in 2009, MJ stepped in as manager and has only improved the value that DGH brings to clients, human and canine alike.
After finishing her Bachelors in Psychology, Megan was looking for a summer job before attending graduate school and going on to primate training. She fell so in love with DGH that she decided to stay and continues her education with dogs. Even after 5+ years of employment at DGH she still learns something new about animal behavior every day and does a lot more smiling and laughing than she would in a classroom. More and more MJ finds her job to be discerning what a dog wants and finding a safe way to give it to them.
She reports "I am so grateful for the mutual love and respect that has developed between myself and our dogs. I am so blessed that so many wonderful people share their extraordinary dogs with me". MJ is also blessed to often hang out with DGH beasties outside of Dog Gone Happy with her house sitting and dog walking business.
Meredith Haynes
Assistant to the manager
Dog Gone Happy has been fortunate enough to have hired Meredith and to have kept her for over two years now! Meredith assists MJ with the facility maintenance and has been trained to provide backup when MJ is on vacation. Meredith’s studies center on obtaining her Master’s of Science in Companion Animal Behavior Counseling. She states that she is "grateful to be able to work at such a well run daycare." When Meredith finishes her education she will be fully qualified to work with dogs, cats and horses on behavioral issues. Meredith states with certainty that watching and interacting with the dogs at DGH has taught her a great deal about situations that inform her degree. She is doing her thesis with information she has gathered from DGH.
Dog Gone Happy utilizes the tenants of the Third Way of Training and Meredith especially appreciates that fact and the resulting safe and comfortable environment for all the dogs and staff. She says it is wonderful to see dogs grow and learn in the process
Dylan Huerter
Facilitator
Although Dylan has worked in a variety of fields including as a chef and also, ongoing, in design, he is happy to have landed at Dog Gone Happy as a facilitator. Dylan says "I have had and incredible love and passion for animals since I was just a pup myself. From owning and working with more than 12 dogs in my years, I have developed an understanding and profound respect for the creatures, as they have undoubtedly proven to be my best friends. Being excited about the individual relationships and bonds that each dog has offered me, I say with complete excitement, that I call Dog Gone Happy my place of employment. Working here has been such a treat, and I look forward to each new canine that enters through the doors"!
Kelsey Laver
Facilitator
Kelsey has only been in Portland since October of 2009 and Dog Gone Happy was lucky enough to be in the market to use her great, innate skills at daycare facilitation after she graduated from the University of Wisconsin. Kelsey brings with her previous experience working at kennels, animal hospitals, horse training facilities as well as a doggie daycare near Madison, Wisconsin. When Kelsey arrived in Portland she knew she wanted to find an animal related job. Kelsey states "I can certainly say that DGH has a wonderful, clean, and safe facility that consistenly provides a positive environment for all my furry friends. I have two poochies of my own, a Boxer named Sophie and a Pitt mix appropriately named Big Bad Leroy Brown. I can also say that I look forward to coming to work at Dog Gone Happy everyday and frequently gush to my friends about how awesome my daycare dogs are"!
Amy Vaniotis
Facilitatior
Amy is the newest member of the DGH staff, and is thrilled to be pursuing her longstanding interest in animal training and behavior. "My whole path in life has been directed by my love for animals," Amy says. After receiving a degree in creative writing from Dartmouth College, she spent the past four years as the Legal Writer and Editor for an animal welfare organization. While she knew this work was important, she was also eager to work with animals directly, and to learn as much as she could about how they communicate and learn. Now she has the best of both worlds by freelancing as an advocacy writer while seeing animals in action at DGH. Amy says, "It's hard to imagine working in a more fun and joyful place. I feel lucky to be surrounded every day by such great dogs and caring staff, and to learn so much from them both." She is interested in pursuing a graduate degree in animal behavior.