Shana Shana has always held a special place in her heart for dogs, and she has always had dogs in her life. In all of her baby pictures there was always a dog sitting or lying by her side. She was raised with German Shepherds as well as Dobermans. As a child, she took a variety of classes with her dogs, including agility, obedience and conformation. As she got older, she became a junior handler. Shana says, “Those are some of the best memories I have.” All through high school as well as college, she was either in the ring or helping at her local humane society.

Shana went to college and graduated with a double major in Graphic Design and Marketing. While away at college and finally living in a place where she could have a dog, she found her current dog, Cisco, on the freeway early one morning when he was just 3 months old, and since then they have been inseparable. Something about special that bond with Cisco really changed Shana’s life. “I think he is what really made me decide to change professions from being a graphic designer to working with dogs.”

After working a few years in the corporate world, Shana decided she needed a breather. She started walking dogs and loved it. She woke up every morning excited and ready to start the day. After doing that for a bit, she realized that she wanted to get back into training and after a little research she found A DOG’S LIFE, which she says is “The perfect match for me.” Shana loves working with the dogs and teaching them tricks. She also loves making special relationships with her slumber party dogs!

When Shana is not working at ADL, she is “an avid movie watcher which works perfectly with staying in on the weekends with all my slumber party dogs curled up next to me.” She also goes on lots of hikes as well as spending time working on her garden. She loves reading, as well and is currently brushing up on California History.

Shana is a Certified Pet Care Technician through the American Boarding and Kennel Association and she is certified in Pet First Aid and CPR.

Serena Rose has had a life-long love for all animals, especially dogs. As a child and an adult, loving canines have always surrounded her. "I just don't feel whole without at least one dog friend nearby -- And the more the merrier!" she says. Serena Rose pursued her fascination with animal minds and interspecies communication by earning her BA degree in Psychology from the University of California at Santa Cruz. There she mainly focused her study on cognitive development in humans and animals, linguistic and nonverbal communication research, and experimental design.

She worked for three years as a Research Assistant at the Long Marine Lab in Santa Cruz. She helped train the Pinnipeds (seals and sea lions) with operant conditioning techniques for running acoustic and cognition experiments as well as many useful heatlh behaviors. Then, for five and a half years, she worked as Lead Caregiver/Research Assistant at The Gorilla Foundation in Woodside, CA, the longest running study of interspecies communication and cognition of its kind. Communicating through American Sign Language and English with the famous gorilla Koko and her mate, Ndume, Serena Rose learned a lot about animal minds, human minds, herself and the natural world.

Since coming to join the team at A DOG'S LIFE, Serena Rose describes the unique experience as, "A wonderful feeling to be both a teacher and a fun playmate to these special pups. Being around all these furry faces and sweet doggy spirits is like coming home."

Serena is an Advanced Certified Pet Care Technician through the American Boarding and Kennel Association.

Beverly grew up loving dogs. When she was a kid, she asked her mom for either a daddy or a doggie. Guess which one came first? Not only one, but two dogs! With her mom's permission, she rescued two unwanted strays behind their restaurant (Minnie the Papillon and Gorda the Spaniel).

MaryAnne is a California Native and grew up in a farming community outside of San Diego. She is currently attending SFSU where she is majoring in History. Eventually, she would like to become a history teacher.

She currently has 2 cats, Cyrus and Cleo, and a Lab/German Shepherd/Border Collie Mix puppy named Bella. Prior to working at A DOG'S LIFE, MaryAnne raised a service dog for Canine Companions for Independence. She also volunteered giving riding lessons with TEACH, the Therapeutic Equestrian Activity Center for the Handicapped. When she is not working at ADL or in school, MaryAnne enjoys camping and sewing.

MaryAnne says, "My favorite part of working at ADL is the fact that I get to play with dogs all day- what's better than that?!"

MaryAnne is a Certified Pet Care Technician through the American Boarding and Kennel Association.

Eric is a Sunnyvale native, born and raised. He is currently a student at De Anza Junior College, taking care of his general education. While he is undecided on what he will be studying in the future, he is leaning towards Environmental Studies.

Prior to working at A DOG’S LIFE, he worked at a major chain pet store for about a year, where he was a cashier and often helped out when the groomers needed an extra hand. He has also had a number of pets throughout his life. He grew up with a cocker spaniel mix named Pearl, and a cocker spaniel named Tasha. He currently has two cats, Shadow, a black medium haired mix they adopted from the Humane Society and Louise, a cat his family rescued. Last but not least is his Beta fish named Marilyn, who Eric got to keep after a client from his previous job wanted to return him. As his store was not allowed to resell him, Eric says, “I adopted him that night, and bought a cool half globe hanging fish tank for my wall. He's a trooper still trucking along.” Eric and his family obviously have a soft spot in their hearts for animals in need of a good home!

Outside of work, Eric enjoys working on his car, watching the Family Guy, spoiling his kitty, playing his Playstation 2, and playing the drums. Music is a big part of Eric’s life.

Says Eric, “My favorite part of my job at ADL is developing relationships on a one on one basis with the dogs… if there is one dog or even a few dogs at the end of the night, I love bringing out the "cool" toys, such as [the rope toys for] playing tug-a-war. Another favorite thing to do at work is giving the dogs loving I’m always giving; back and belly scratches with the occasional butt scratches. I’m not ashamed.”

Mariela was born and raised in Menlo Park. As a child, she was obsessed with animals. Every time she found a stray animal, she would always take it in, whether it be a cat, dog, mouse, hamster, snake, birds, ducks, rabbits, chameleon, etc. Anytime her family had a new dog or cat, it would be because she either found it in the street, or rescued from a broken home. “I really drove my mom crazy with animals! At one point in my childhood, I had rescued 13 cats at the same time,” she says.

One of Mariela’s jobs prior to working at ADL was at a local vet clinic. Mariela says she never feels complete without a dog in the house. Currently, there two in ther family, Cloudy and Billy. Cloudy is her precious baby, who will be turning 4 in January, a shih tzu/poodle mix and Billy is Cloudy's son, a chihuahua/poodle-shih tzu, who will be turning 2 on Mothers' Day.

Outside of work, Mariela enjoys a wide variety of interests include skateboarding, street surfing, hiking (with Cloudy and Billy), snowboarding, playing Guitar Hero, skiing, swimming, camping, bowling, paint balling, shooting ranges, dirt-biking and bike-riding! When she is not outside being active, she enjoys watching Animal Planet, the Science Channel, the Discovery Channel and the History Channel. And at the end of a busy day, “the thing I really love to do is, last but not least, cuddling at night with my two bratty pups while I read.”

Mariela says, “what I really love about ADL is that I get to work with really cool people and really cool dogs! It can't get any better than that!”

Mariela is a Certified Pet Care Technichian through the American Boarding and Kennel Association.

Sheila grew up in Fremont and is currently attending her first year at De Anza College. She's always had a close relationship to her beautiful Pomeranian, Sadie. In her free time, she enjoys taking long walks with her girl at a nearby park.

If Sheila sees a dog walking alone on a sidewalk, she's the type of person that would help the dog find its way back home. She is ecstatic to be working with the Palo Alto Team and loves dogs just as much as they love her. Sheila doesn't hold back when it comes to keeping these dogs entertained. She'll roll around with them, bark at them, and of course, practice good manners with them!

Sheila says, "My favorite part working at A DOG'S LIFE is not only working with the people and staff there but also working with the different individual dogs and getting to know their own unique doggy qualities within them. I also enjoy having the opportunity to experience and learn about different training techniques."

Melissa was born in Mountain View, but grew up in San Jose with her grandparents, mom, dad, younger sister, her first German Shepard, Heidi, and her first cat Mr. Strawberry. She attended Branham High School and graduated in 1979. Melissa has two great kids—one punk rocker at Dartmouth Middle School and one academic overachiever at Boston University.

Melissa started her pet career grooming her parents Lhasa Apsos and then started her formal grooming career at the Foxy Hound in Los Gatos in the late 1970s. A groomer for over 30 years, Melissa has worked for private grooming shops, mobile grooming companies, corporate and private veterinary clinics, and even owned her own shop in Las Vegas, Nevada, where she lived for the past 9 years.

Melissa just moved back to San Jose and is pleased to be working with the great staff at A Dog's Life. The best part of working at ADL, for her, is learning about the training relationship that is built between an owner and its pet. Unfortunately, due to life circumstances, Melissa doesn't have any pets right now. However, the opportunity afforded to her by working at ADL provides her with a rewarding and exciting alternative.

Melissa is restarting her life and she is trying to find her way and knows that the animals will lead her in the right direction.

Rosemary is a California native who grew up in San Francisco, and went to school at UC Santa Cruz, obtaining a BA in American Studies. Rosemary then went on to get a Master's in Social Work. Prior to working at A DOG'S LIFE, Rosemary was a social worker for the County of Santa Clara.

Rosemary grew up with dogs and cats being part of her family, and many of her best childhood memories include caring for neighborhood cats, visiting with her aunt's dogs and volunteering at local pet hospitals. Rosemary currently has a black lab named Mimi. She says, "As I raised my own dog, I loved learning about dog training and dog behavior from classes as well as from close friends who had their own dogs. Recently, I pursued this passion further by volunteering as a dog socializer at the Humane Society of Silicon Valley. For the past two years, I have been volunteering with my dog with Furry Friends Pet Assisted Therapy Services where we visit hospital patients." Rosemary has shifted her focus of her career path from social work to animals and plans to continue to learn about dog behavior, dog training and animal-assisted therapy.

Outside of work, Rosemary spends her time hanging out with her husband and Mimi; they like going for walks, visiting with friends and going on road trips. She also enjoys running, traveling, watching movies and cooking.

When asked about her favorite part of working at A DOG'S LIFE, Rosemary says, "After many years of wishing I could work with dogs to learn about dog behavior/training, I am finally doing it at ADL. I love getting to know the dogs' individual personalities/quirks and my favorite moments at ADL are watching dogs play with their best friends at day care."