About

Becca started working at Doggy Haven in July of 2017. She’s grown up with dogs and is an avid animal lover! Her golden retriever, Wilson, has been coming here since he was a pup so as soon as she was old enough she applied for a job. When she graduates from Jackson high school in 2019, Becca plans on going to college in hopes of becoming a veterinarian! Ideally she would like to be a wildlife or zoo veterinarian so she can be with animals of all kinds. Her favorite kind of days are days spent at the beach sunbathing with Wilson or throwing him a tennis ball. She loves Wilson even more than he loves playing fetch, which is a lot! Dogs are always in the center of her heart and she loves coming to work to spend time cuddling and playing with furry friends!

Emily joined Doggy Haven resort in October of 2018 as a resort companion. Her favorite part about working at Doggy Haven is all the great dogs! She came all the way from Boise, following her passion for dogs to Washington so that she could attend school to become a Veterinarian Technician. In her spare time Emily enjoys spending time with (you guessed it) dogs! Often attending dog parks with her partner-in-fun Tilikum (pictured) a unique Shih Tsu/Border Collie mix and boy is he full of love and energy. During the rare moments when Emily isn’t hanging out with dogs she enjoys playing basketball.

Holly has an extensive background in pet care. In addition to being part of the Doggy Haven team since March of 2010, she has worked at 3 other daycares, 2 vet clinics, and 2 pet supply stores. She did pet sitting and dog walking as a teen, was certified in pet first aid and CPR, spent a year volunteering a couple days at HPAC, fostered ferrets, has been a loving mom to chinchillas, birds, a hedgehog, cats, and dogs. She is currently mom to 1 dog (Finley) and 3 little humans. Holly loves Irish music, and played the bag pipes for 15 years—she would love to pick it up again. Some day she’d like to run a marathon, and climb Mt. Rainier. In the meantime she spends her time playing with her kids and husband, going to the dog park, hiking, traveling, and reading. Holly and Finley love coming to DH, especially when they get to run, play, and watch dogs being dogs! Holly would be happy to spend the rest of her days as part of Doggy Haven.

Jennifer joined the Doggy Haven team in July of 2017. She currently is a dog trainer, working closely with trainer Kim, teaching orientation and levels classes. Jennifer has spent all of her life around athletics and because of that spent time coaching. She decided to take her passions for teaching and dogs to the next level by entering the apprentice program. Her favorite dogs are black labradors because of their loyalty, young spirit, and active nature. She is pictured here with her 13 year old first love, Pointer, who passed away December of 2016.

Kellie started working at Doggy Haven September of 2017 as a full-time Resort Companion. When she was young, her automatic reply to the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” was, “A veterinarian!” Animals have always been and will continue to be, a big part of her life. Since the age 13, has been a pet sitter and dog walker for her neighbors and family. She volunteered at PAWS for two years where her duties included: dog walking, cat room cleaning, and being on the Clinic Call Team. For her senior project when in high school, she spent 45 hours job shadowing at VCA Silver Lake Animal Hospital. Throughout her life she has had four cats and one dog. Sadly, about a week after she started at Doggy Haven, her dog of 15 years, Skip, passed away from cancer. She thought it would be difficult to come in and see dogs the next day, but it ended up helping immensely. Different quirks, and physicalities that these dogs have, remind her of Skip and it helps keep the memories alive!

In her spare time, she enjoys reading, playing with her cat, and listening to music. She hopes one day to travel the world — first on her list… Europe!

Lauren joined Doggy Haven as a Resort Companion in October of 2018 and hit the ground running since she had previously been a dog walker in Seattle for many years, as well as training her Australian Shepherd mix and Golden Retriever in 4-H since she was 10. When not at work, she loves hiking, camping, running, cross county skiing, and drawing, but especially loves being surrounded by dogs every day at Doggy Haven. In the future, Lauren would love to continue traveling all around the world, visit Europe and Asia again, and go to New Zealand and Scandinavia, and on her travels maybe find a vegetable farm to settle down on for a while. Although she currently has no dogs at home, there are already plans in the works to get a Border Collie!

Nikki TeSelle is a certified trainer who joined Doggy Haven in March of 2017, she’s now teaching Feisty Fido and Levels classes, with a focus on cautious canines and rescue dogs that need a little extra help in their new home.  Nikki stays current on the latest in positive reinforcement training and theory by attending seminars and workshops throughout the Northwest.

Ever since she was young, Nikki had a passion for animals, growing up as the only child in a family with lots of pets – dogs, cats, birds, hamsters, frogs, etc. She transferred this passion into a career by attending the Karen Pryor Trainer Foundation and becoming a Certified Training Partner of Karen Pryor Academy (KPA-CTP); she is also certified in Pet First-Aid and CPR. Nikki is currently continuing her education in dog training and animal behavior and is excited to take the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers (CCPDT) test very soon.

Nikki lives in the Mill Creek area with her husband, Mike, and two beloved Siberian Huskies, Koda and Meika. While she and her husband enjoy traveling all over the world, they especially enjoy hiking alongside their huskies whenever they get the chance.

Rachel came to us in January of 2017 after being a stay-at-home mom for 14 years. However, before deciding to stay home she worked in the veterinary field for 7 yrs. She’s had animals since the age of 8 when she acquired a male cat she promptly named Maria Snow White Fluffy. She’s passed her love of animals onto her two daughters. Her girls personally own a corn snake, stick bugs and a beta fish. She and her family currently have two dogs, a Labradoodle named Birdie and a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel named Josie, and two cats, Finn & Rue. In the past she and her family have owned dogs, cats, fish, gerbils, leaf bugs, stick bugs, frogs and chickens. When not at Doggy Haven, Rachel enjoys photography, making jewelry, water-coloring, baking, and reading.

Rebecca joined the doggy haven team in July of 2017 as a Resort companion and grooming assistant. She’s currently a senior in high school and a full time running start student. After finishing at EvCC, she plans on going to medical school. Rebecca has always been an animal lover. Here she is pictured with her “fur family,” Ella, Daisy, and Genevieve.

Ryan started working at Doggy Haven in October of 2018 as a Resort Companion. He loves to go hiking and being outside, as well as spending lots of time with dogs, so working at Doggy Haven is a perfect opportunity to combine his passions! Prior to working at Doggy Haven, Ryan was in construction, but in the future he hopes to provide a foster home for dogs of all types who are in need of a temporary, loving home. Currently he has three dogs at home, Remi a 1 year old chocolate lab who they have had since she was puppy, Macie a long haired dachshund who has been with them from 5 weeks to 5 years, and Nellie a rat terrier/beagle mix, also 5 years, who they’ve had since about 6 months old.

Sam been part of the team since June of 2017 and loves every day of it. She could not think of a better place to work. Working with dogs is what she’s always wanted to do. It can be a challenge but it is also very rewarding. She has had many different jobs in the past but this is her absolute favorite. In her spare time Sam loves to go to concerts and just hang out with her husband and their dogs. She has always had dogs and life wouldn’t be the same without them. Sam’s favorite part of working at Doggy Haven is getting to meet new dogs everyday.

Sarah joined the team at Doggy Haven in May of 2017 and she absolutely loves it. Sarah moved here from Michigan at the beginning of the year and misses her dogs like crazy (German Shepherd, black Labrador Retriever, and Labrador/Pitt Bull mix), but luckily she has the best job in the world where she gets to see dogs everyday! Working with animals has always been Sarah’s passion, and she would not trade this job for anything. In her spare time she enjoys reading, writing, relaxing, and especially baking. Sarah is happy to report that she added an adorable chocolate lab to her family, his name is Archer and he is a huge fan of dandelions!

Shayla joined the Doggy Haven team as a Resort Companion in July of 2018. Shayla has grown up with dogs all her life and has been a pet sitter and dog walker for all of her friends and family. When she’s not at Doggy Haven, she’s most likely at a dog park hanging out with her best friend Franklin (supermutt). Franklin is a rescue from California and loves Shayla almost as much as he loves swimming (which is a lot!). In her free time Shayla enjoys painting, hiking, and traveling.