PALO ALTO TEAM

Mika was born in Spokane, Washington and grew up in Yuba City, California. She has since lived in Nagano, Japan; San Francisco, CA, and a handful of other Bay Area cities. After finishing college at UC Davis and leaping into the busy working schedule of her adult life, she found that her childhood dogs, Peko and IG, have never been far from her mind. Having worked many different jobs, she often wondered if she would ever find a job that combined her love of dogs and working with people.

Enter A Dog's Life. Since she first started in Sunnyvale as an assistant manager, Mika has risen to manager of ADL's various locations. Mika is ecstatic about bringing her new puppy, Raja, a Bernese Mountain dog home in November 2011! The addition of her very own pup has been a long time coming in Mika's life!

In her spare time, she enjoys riding around on her Vespa and watching nature documentaries, especially those narrated by David Attenborough, as well as playing bocce ball and board games. Admittedly, she can also get sucked into watching entire seasons of TV shows in one sitting when she finds the time.

Mika is an Advanced Certified Pet Care Technician through the Pet Care Services Association and has completed a course in Pet First Aid and CPR.

Lisa came to A DOG'S LIFE with a very impressive resume. Lisa has been "an avid dog lover for as long as I can remember." She grew up bathing, pet sitting and dog walking for the people in her neighborhood, as well as helping her father raise Labrador Retrievers. In her adult life, she channeled her animal experience into a job at a veterinary office where she worked as a kennel tech starting in 1997. Soon after, she started helping out at the groom shop next to the vet's office, where she discovered her natural talent for grooming dogs. Within 3 months, she was working full time as a groomer.

Lisa has a wealth of doggie daycare experience under her belt. She has worked in the industry since 2001, where has she learned a great deal about managing, handling and training large groups of dogs, while continuing to groom dogs for the facilities where she has been employed. Lisa continues this tradition for A DOG'S LIFE, where she is our head groomer as well as one of our Senior Play Group Leaders. Lisa's gentle touch and firm understanding of the way dogs work makes her a great asset to the A DOG'S LIFE team. Lisa has a soft spot for poodles (her last two dogs were standards!), and curly coated breeds are her grooming specialty.

Lisa is a Certified Pet Care Technician through the Pet Care Services Association and has completed a course in Pet First Aid and CPR.

January 2005, May 2005, April 2006, October 2006, December 2009, October 2010, and October 2011

Best Groomer Silicon Valley TAILS Magazine

Best Groomer (2nd) Silicon Valley TAILS Magazine

Best Groomer Favorite Silicon Valley TAILS Magazine

Lindsey grew up in Connecticut, and while she and her family spent a lot of time moving around when she was a child, as long as the family pets were with them, it was home. Lindsey relocated to California toward the end of 2008, and that is when she found A DOG'S LIFE. She plans on going to school for Environmental Sciences and Paralegal Study.

Prior to relocating, Lindsey worked at a boarding kennel. She enjoyed the time she had with the dogs, but wanted to work with them regularly, and in a group. Finding ADL was perfect for her!

Lindsey has 3 cats (a Calico named Cricket, a Tabby named Mika, and a Manx named Bubba), and a dog named Bandit, who came into her life through ADL. In her spare time, Lindsey likes to dance, write and travel. She is also a member of the Felidae Foundation, which helps protect wild cats.

Lindsey says her favorite part of working at ADL is "building relationships with our daycare dogs, watching them learn and grow. They become a regular part of my life, and keep me laughing all day."

Lindsey is an Advanced Certified Pet Care Technician through the Pet Care Services Association and has a completed a course in Pet First Aid and CPR.

December 2008, January 2009, March 2009, January 2010 and November 2010

A native of San Jose, Shelby graduated from Lincoln High School and began her general education at San Jose City College. During middle school, she participated in 4-H club, and she continues to enjoy riding horses. Shelby spent two years volunteering with the Happy Hallow Zoo summer camp, during which she helped educate the public about small wildlife and their local habitat. She calls herself an "all-around animal lover."

Murphy is Shelby's two-year-old pug. When Shelby is not at the dog park with Murphy, she spends her time teaching him new tricks; she claims he's currently learning "speak." Shelby also devotes a great deal of her time to her three cats: Grace, Leo, and June.

After working for two years as a kennel assistant in a veterinary hospital, Shelby has aspirations of continuing to work with dogs. She hopes to eventually become a certified dog trainer, and she finds that each day working at A DOG'S LIFE is an extremely valuable learning experience. Shelby enjoys having the opportunity to interact with dogs of all sizes, and she likes that the dogs are as eager to learn as she is! Her favorite aspect of A DOG'S LIFE is the great variety of services available, and she says, "I really enjoy working at A DOG'S LIFE because they offer so many different activities for dogs! It's all so fun and exciting!"

Shelby is a Certified Pet Care Technician through the Pet Care Services Association and has completed a course in Pet First Aid and CPR.

August 2009 (MP), October 2010 (MP), March 2011 (MP), June 2011 (MP), and September 2011

Dean was born and spent most of his life in San Jose. He left for Fresno to pursue his undergraduate degree but came back to San Jose. However, he decided his next destination would take him to the Island of St. Kitts for a veterinary education. After spending six months on the island, he decided to come back to San Jose and work on his teaching credentials.

Before joining the ADL Milpitas team, Dean gained experience working with animals at the HSSV Medical Center, The Berryessa Wild Life Center, Fresno Chaffee Zoo, Ross University Veterinary School, and the ADL Palo Alto team!

At the moment Dean is enrolled at National University working on receiving a single subject teaching credential. "My future plans are to take my experiences and return it to the classroom. I hope that with my teachings, I would be able to influence our future scientist and doctors."

When he is not working with animals, Dean can usually be found dancing on the ballroom floor getting ready for the next competition in San Francisco. He also does a good amount of hiking and exploring what Mother Nature left for us. For a truly relaxing day, Dean can be found laying on the beach with his friends and a cool drink nearby. "I have two dogs Oreo and Norman. Oreo is a Labrador retriever/chow chow mix and Norman is a coconut retriever. Honestly, I really don't know Norman's breed. All I know is that I adopted him from the island of St. Kitts and he likes to pick up coconuts!

My favorite part of working at ADL is that the environment is always changing bringing new challenges. Then when activity levels slow down, there's always an opportunity to teach an old (or young) dog new tricks."

Dean is a Certified Pet Care Technician through A DOG'S LIFE.

July 2010 and July 2011 (MP)

Cady Ray has been with A DOG'S LIFE since February, 2011. She grew up in San Jose and went to Foothill college for her general education. She plans on re-enrolling in the future for the Veterinary Technician program. Prior to working at ADL, Cady has had a lot of experience working with a variety of animals. She was involved in wild life rescue for orphaned and injured wildlife and worked with a variety of animals including humming birds, squirrels, ducks and geese, possums, coyotes, bobcats, hawks and owls. She also worked at a Vet hospital and worked with dogs and cats, rodents, birds, reptiles including 70lb Monitors and 14ft boas, horses and goats, chickens and live stock. With all of her experience working with animals, its no wonder she wants to eventually build a career working with them. She says, "whether its vet, rescue or animal services, I'm sure I'll love it!"

Cady's pets include a Quarter Horse mare (Sugar), a Welsh mix pony (Lucky), an Arab Pony (Dora), a Silkie Rooster (big), 5 cats (Mojo, Helena, Ashes, Fiona, Coal), a Chocolate Lab (Bosco), and a Guinea pig (Kiss). She says that most of the time she is not at work, she is "usually spending time riding my horses and living the country life which involves a lot of chores. It takes a lot of work to keep up with so many animals." She also enjoys photography, mainly of animals of course!

Cady's enthusiasm shows here at ADL. "I love that my job involves being with dogs all day. I love playing with, training, and giving love to the day care dogs, each dog has it's own unique personality and its been such a blast watching them come out and develop. The staff is great too, every one takes the time to get to know each dog in order to ensure it has the best experience possible. It's great to work at facility that holds itself to such high standards and works hard to stay that way."

Cady is a Certified Pet Care Technician through A DOG'S LIFE.

March 2011

Annalea is originally from Derby, Kansas. She attended Wichita State University for a few years, received her B.M. Music Performance from the University of the Pacific Conservatory of Music, and plans on being a orchestral bassoonist.

Growing up, she had dogs part of the time, and always lots of cats. She has always had a strong desire to work with animals in some way, but never felt she had time to give the field enough attention. Because she has finished school and has not yet started her career, now seems like the perfect time for her to explore her passion for helping animals. At home, she has her dog, Rimsky, and two cats, Mega and Nicholas.

Outside of her animals, and when she is not practicing or making reeds, Annalea greatly enjoys traveling and language. She loves finding new places to go especially if she can incorporate music into it. So far she has been able to travel to seven countries in Europe just by playing music and attending music festivals. She has also spent several years studying French and was able to use it to work with the Peace Corps in Mauritania, Africa on a program helping educate Muslim women.

Annalea is very excited to be a part of ADL. She is happy to have the opportunity to bond with so many different dogs and see how they interact and relate to each other. "I love that I can go to work everyday and know that I am making a positive impact on both people and dogs as well as improving my knowledge."

Annalea is a Certified Pet Care Technician through A DOG'S LIFE.

May 2011 and August 2011

Alice was born and raised in San Jose, CA. She graduated from San Jose State University with a degree in Psychology and a minor in Criminal Justice. After being in the corporate world for a few years, she decided to pursue her dream of working with animals. She attended the AZ Canine Academy and after graduation started a dog walking and pet sitting business. Her clients included dogs and cats but also iguanas and even a backyard full of turtles.

Alice has had dogs in her family since she was 3 years old. Currently, she has a 15 year old Spaniel mix named Emmy who is a massive cuddle buddy and can be found sharing Alice's pillow at night. She also has a 1 year old Pit Bull Mix named Charlie who is the friendliest and silliest dog she has ever met. Alice loves spending time with family and friends and taking the dogs on adventures. She also likes trying out new recipes and cooking with her wonderful husband, Henry.

Working at A Dog's Life and learning how to help each individual dog have the best experience possible when in our care has been very rewarding. Seeing how caring the staff is and that their main focus is the safety and happiness of the dogs, Alice knows she has found the right job for her.

Alice is a Certified Pet Care Technician through A DOG'S LIFE.

May 2011 (MP) and November 2011

Cody was born and raised in San Jose, California. She is currently attending De Anza Community college for her general education and is thinking about transferring to an art school in the future.

While growing up she was always surrounded by animals. She grew up with dogs, cats and even rabbits. Always being surrounded by pets while growing up let her realize how much she enjoyed spending time with them and learning from them. Currently, she and her boyfriend have two Pomeranian's, Cooper and Momo, and a dwarf hamster named Chubby.

Outside of work, she loves spending time with her dogs and taking them on small trips. She also enjoys drawing, photography, modeling and culinary endeavors. Cody is also an assistant coach for badminton at her old high school.

Before working at ADL, she worked at another daycare and boarding facility and loved it. That's when she came to ADL. One of her favorite things about working at ADL is getting to know each dogs personality and constantly being able to learn with them.

Cody is a Certified Pet Care Technician through A DOG'S LIFE.

January 2012

Alexandria was born and raised in San Jose, California. After graduating from Mount Pleasant High School, she went off to attend college at San Francisco State University as a Pre-Nursing major. Then after three years of living in the city, she decided to move back home to attend Unitek College to continue her nursing education. She recently graduated from Unitek's Licensed Vocational Nursing program and is currently studying to take and pass the state board exam.

Alexandria has loved animals, especially dogs, from a very young age. Growing up, she has owned numerous fish, a hamster, a parakeet, three turtles, and four dogs. She currently owns three dogs: Baby, an 11 year old Rottweiler/German Shepherd mix, Doobie, a 7 year old Jack Russel Terrier/Chihuahua mix, and Koa, a four year old Westie mix. Recently, she had to put down her first and best dog ever, Oreo, who was an Australian Shepherd. When Oreo got sick, Alexandria realized how passionate and interested she was in dogs and their health. She thought there was no better job she could have other than working with dogs while waiting to get her nursing career started. On her free time, she enjoys spending time with her parents and four sisters and going out with her friends. She spends as much time as she can going to San Diego to visit her sister and nephew and going to Sacramento to visit her grandparents. Alexandria also really enjoys concerts, shopping/fashion, movies, and traveling to new places.

She is very excited to be a part of the team at A Dog's Life. What she loves most about working here is getting to know all the dogs and all their different personalities while extending her knowledge about dogs and their behavior. She also loves working with the staff at ADL because they are all so passionate about dogs and strive to do their best to make the experience an awesome one for both the dogs and their parents. There's nothing better than working with dogs all day while learning from them and having a blast at the same time!

Alexandria is a Certified Pet Care Technician through A DOG'S LIFE.

December 2011

Sam grew up in Everett, WA, and spent the first five years of her life traveling with her parents because her dad was on the PGA tour. She moved to California in 2008. Sam plans to attend school to become a Vet Tech, and would like to work with Humane Societies.

Sam has had pets all of her life. She started out with two huskies, then came a German shepherd, then a German shepherd/lab mix. Sam currently has a chihuahua/yorkie mix named T-rex.

Sam loves all sports! She is happy watch just about every single sport there is. She played varsity basketball and soccer in High School and has danced her whole life; hip-hop mostly. Sam just started rock climbing and she is thoroughly enjoying it. She also enjoys reading and reads "all the time."

Sam says, "I love working at ADL because it's a chance to gain experience with dogs that will carry on to my future career goals. Also, I just love dogs, I love being around them and learning and adapting to their behaviors. They make me smile and laugh!! I'm addicted!"

Sam is a Certified Pet Care Technician through the Pet Care Services Association.

May 2009 and September 2009

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