PALO ALTO TEAM
LINDSEY JOHNSON
Assistant Manager, ACPCTTeam Member since October 6, 2008
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 received a Certificate of Completion of CParf's Pet First Aid and CPR course.
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 December 2008, January 2009, March 2009, January 2010, November 2010 and April 2012 |
TARA SHORT
ABC Certified Professional Groomer, CPCTTeam Member since March 10, 2010
Born and raised in San Jose, Tara has always loved animals. She joined the A DOG'S LIFE team in 2010 in Sunnyvale as a Playgroup Leader. In early 2012, Tara received her Professional Grooming Certificate through Animal Behavior College after extensive course work and over 100 hours of hands-on training with an ABC-approved professional groomer. She transferred to Palo Alto as our groomer in early 2013. While continuing with school to pursue a graphic arts degree, she enjoys being a part of the A DOG'S LIFE team. She has worked several grooming positions, but says the clients and their pets in Palo Alto have been the best she's worked with by far. Her favorite part of working at A DOG'S LIFE is how dedicated every staff member is to working with each dog, making sure they are active, learning, safe, and comfortable. She also likes getting to know each dog individually and to see them progress.
Outside of work Tara, enjoys painting, drawing, and the company of her dogs, Sasha the Chow and Roxy the Pug. She loves to give Sasha different hair styles and experiment with creative grooming. Tara believes that every dog deserves to look and feel their best, and loves to find a way to make each dog's grooming experience a success!
Tara is a Certified Pet Care Technician through the Pet Care Services Association and has received a Certificate of Completion of CParf's Pet First Aid and CPR course.
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August 2010 |
DEAN LORENZO
Senior Playgroup Leader, Lobby Host, CPCTTeam Member since May 30, 2010
Dean was born and spent most of his life in San Jose. He left for Fresno to
pursue his undergraduate degree in Biology. After receiving his bachelor's
he spent time in air quality and diabetic research. After spending two years
in research 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,
Dean found great passion in tutoring his classmates in microbiology and
embryology, so he decided to withdraw from veterinary school and pursue
his single subject teaching credentials and a Masters in educational best
practices.
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 and Masters in education. "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 lying 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. 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.
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July 2010 and July 2011 (MP) |
CODY MATTHES
Senior Playgroup Leader, CPCTTeam Member since September 6, 2011
Cody was born and raised in San Jose, California. She is currently attending De Anza Community college, with a double major in Business and Behavioral Science.
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 a pomeranian named Cooper, a cattledog mix named Seamus, who she found through ADL.
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.
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 and has received a Certificate of Completion of CParf's Pet First Aid and CPR course.
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January 2012 |
NAADIA WILSON
Senior Playgroup Leader, CPCTTeam Member since January 2, 2012
Naadia grew up here in the Bay Area in San Jose. She's going to Evergreen Valley College to get her
degree in Biology to become a Veterinarian. She would also like to become an Animal Behaviorist and
open her own rescue for any and all animals. She grew up with animals in her home - dogs, cats, birds,
rabbits, rats, snakes - you name it! By the age of 5 Naadia had her very own puppy, who recently passed
away.
Before working at ADL, her animal experience included volunteering with local animal rescues and volunteering at the San Jose Animal Care Center. Her interests outside of work and dogs are: hanging out with family and friends, going on walks with her dogs, and Tahitian dancing. She also enjoys fostering whenever she gets the chance. Animals are basically a part of her life; she can't get enough of them even outside of work!
She currently owns five dogs - Nia, the Yorkie mix; Puppy, the Pitbull; Big Bear, the Mastiff; Princess, the Chihuahua; and Abby, the Pointer mix. Not only does she own five dogs but she also owns three cats and one Bearded Dragon. Her favorite part about working at ADL is the dogs of course! She loves how each dog has their own personality and everyday they surprise with something new. "Working with dogs is something I always wanted to do and finding ADL was perfect for me. I learn something new every day at work!" She also enjoys her co-workers. They've been nothing but helpful and supportive, especially with her being the new kid on the block. She looks forward to everything ADL has in store for her.
Naadia is a Certified Pet Care Technician through A DOG'S LIFE and has received a Certificate of Completion of CParf's Pet First Aid and CPR course.
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July 2012 |
CADY RAY
Playgroup Leader, CPCTTeam Member since February 4, 2011
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 and has received a Certificate of Completion of CParf's Pet First Aid and CPR course.
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March 2011 |
CAITLIN PETTY
Playgroup Leader, CPCTTeam Member since August 28, 2012
Caitlin grew up "a little bit of everywhere. We moved around a lot when I was a kid, and I've now lived
in 7 different states." Her family finally settled in Utah when she was 14 and she went to high school
and college there. She got married to Creighton in September 2010 and not long afterwards, they
moved to Baltimore, Maryland for a year before coming to San Jose.
Caitlin graduated from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah with a degree in Biology and has always wanted to work with animals. With a family of 8 kids, her house was constantly becoming home to various animals, including cats, frogs, pigeons, cockatiels, fish, chickens, and mice. When she was 15, Caitlin decided it was time for a dog, so she added a toy poodle, Nefret, to the chaos. Nefret now lives with her parents in Utah, but Caitlin hopes to bring her to San Jose sometime soon. She and her husband also have a cat named Tazz.
Outside of work, Caitlin likes spending time with her awesome husband, traveling, reading, trying new things, and making and eating good food. Her favorite thing about working at ADL is hanging out with and getting to know all the different dogs and their unique personalities. "It's pretty much the best job ever," she says, "I get to play with dogs all day and get paid for it!"
Caitlin is a Certified Pet Care Technician through A DOG'S LIFE.
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QUAN HUA
Playgroup Leader in TrainingTeam Member since December 18, 2012
Quan spent his early years growing up in Vietnam. He and his family moved to the San Jose area when he was 5 years old.
He has a whole family of pets, including 2 shih tzu's named "Coco and May May", a pair of finches, and a bearded dragon appropriately named "Smiles". He also has quite the collection of fish, and a large Koi pond that Quan built himself. He admits he does have one favorite fish, which is his Arrowana.
Quan is currently attending De Anza College, and majoring in Business. He hopes to thrive in a social network with his degree, as he loves interacting with people, almost as much as dogs! When Quan isn't at school, at work or caring for his animal family, he is an assistant coach for the batmitten team at Santa Theresa High School. He has been a boy scout for a number of years, and is proud to say he has just been given the rank of "Eagle", the highest rank a boy scout can receive.
His favorite part of working at ADL " There's so much to learn! I love that there are so many opportunities to continue learning about dog behavior, breeds, and first aid. It's really cool that all these resources are available to the staff to educate us".
JESICA JONES
Playgroup Leader in TrainingTeam Member since March 18, 2013
Jesica was born and raised in San Lorenzo, California. After graduating from San Lorenzo High School, she entered California State University, East Bay and graduated with a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in American Sign Language. While she is interested in a professional career as a Marriage and Family Therapist, she is currently on hiatus from continuing her education to pursue a personal interest of working with dogs.
She has been raised alongside various animals such as dogs, cats, iguanas, fish, and a guinea pig. She currently owns a pit bull boxer terrier named Shasta, and a domestic long haired cat named Booger. Her dog, Shasta, was adopted from the Hayward Animal Shelter, and inspired Jesica to become a volunteer dog walker with the shelter in order to become more involved with animals.
When she is not working, Jesica likes to spend her time hanging out with close friends, her mom, dog, and her boyfriend, staying involved with the Hayward Animal Shelter, or reading plenty of books.
After working as a writing tutor for the college she attended, and then becoming a cashier for the fast food restaurant Arby's, she wanted to find a job that would expand her current love of dogs, and ADL became the perfect fit. She enjoys many aspects of the job from the supportive and friendly coworkers who are always around to help; learning about dog behavior and getting to build a relationship with the dogs at day care and seeing them grow.
