A Little About Meg

My name is Meg. I am so grateful to be a part of Puppy Playground, and so excited to get to know all of you and your canine companions! Here’s a little about me!

I entered the field of veterinary medicine in 2016 after spending some time in human medicine as a phlebotomist. I started at the very bottom as an assistant for Banfield Pet Hospital helping with wellness and sick appointments, giving vaccines, performing diagnostics, and learning all the basics of small animal care. Since we were located inside Petsmart, I also learned some basics about exotics and pocket pets, such as guinea pigs, rabbits, etc. I then worked my way up to a nurse position (technician), and became certified in anesthesia. Eventually I was running anesthesia for over 20 surgeries a day. After working there for three years, I moved to a privately-owned hospital called Blue Spruce that specializes in exotic animals and canine orthopedics, in order to expand my knowledge with anesthesia and specialty procedures. During my time there, I was able to experience the difference between a high-volume corporate hospital like Banfield versus a more relaxed and client/patient-focused hospital like Blue Spruce. The difference in patient stress and demeanor was astounding, and I realized just how stressful my previous hospital was for my patients. I learned to manage my own emotions and stress in order to create a better experience for my patients.

That being said, in 2020, I became very interested in canine behavior and applied for an internship with Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah. I spent five weeks learning basic training, search and rescue, and behavior rehabilitation for dogs that had experienced many different levels of trauma. Best Friends Animal Sanctuary is best known for taking the largest number of dogs rescued from the Michael Vick dog fighting operation in 2007. To further my knowledge in behavior modification, I connected with Matt Beisner, owner of The Zen Dog in Los Angeles and star of the show Dog Impossible. With his guidance, I also connected with the horse trainer Buck Brannaman, who had inspired Matt to do the type of training he has become famous for, and in turn, inspired me to look deeper into the human-dog relationship and master the type of training I have had so much success with.

After moving to Texas in 2021, I continued my career working for All Dogs Unleashed boarding and training facility in Carrollton as their medical director. I was in charge of over 100 dogs at a time, and was responsible for all of their medical needs. I was also the lead nurse for Roanoke Animal Hospital for a short time before deciding to home-school my son and find a job where I could work from home. Since then, I have been a veterinary scribe for VCA Animal Hospitals, and have continued in-home canine care and training in Wise County on the side. I am a certified essential oils specialist through Doterra, and have greatly expanded my knowledge in plant medicine and canine nutrition after owning a dog that was chronically ill, and could not be helped with traditional western veterinary medicine.

It has always been my dream to own a canine one-stop-shop. A place where dogs can experience exercise and mental stimulation, where owners can come learn about their dog’s health and mental well-being, and a place where I can use all my experience to improve the human-canine connection. I am an animal advocate to my core, and I believe through understanding our dogs, we can gain better understanding and care of all the creatures we share our planet with, and in doing so, we can uphold our human responsibility to repair and maintain the balance that sustains the beauty of life on our planet.

I am so grateful to be on this journey with my partner Jon, who is the most joyful, positive, and caring dog-lover I have ever known. I am so looking forward to helping make the Puppy Playground family stronger and more connected than ever. I am so grateful to Suzanne and Jason for entrusting this task to Jon and I. We will forever be in their debt. They have handed us our dream, and we are determined to make them and all of their clients proud.

A Little About Jonathan

My name is Jonathan, and words cannot express how thrilled I am to be a part of such an incredible family at Puppy Playground. Having an impact on dogs and their well-being is truly a dream come true for me. I have had dogs my entire life, and they have brought me nothing but happiness.

My dream began when I owned my first two dogs when I moved out on my own and raised them from 8 weeks-of-age. One was a Belgian Shepherd, and he was an intensely loyal and loving dog, but he had a lot of energy and benefited greatly from having something to do. My other pup is a Blue Pitbull, and while she is extremely loving and playful, at that time she had really bad separation anxiety and would tear things up in my home when I left. Due to those issues, I always had to keep them in a kennel when I left, and working 10-12 hour days, it absolutely killed me emotionally and mentally every time I had to leave. This is not to say that kennel-training is a bad thing, in fact, it works very well for some families and their dogs, but it did not work for mine. One day I came home and my Pitbull had broken through the metal cage. It was a horrible sight and resulted in serious injuries to her face, and even worse, she didn’t seem to care at all that she was injured, she was just glad I was home. 

Obviously, something had to change, so I paid a trainer to teach me how to be able to leave them out of a cage when I would go to work. The results created immeasurable benefit for my dogs and I, and at that time I realized it’s all about learning how to communicate with them without instilling fear. They are so much happier now that they know what I want from them, and I know what they want from me. The change made such an impact on my family that I decided then and there that one day I wanted to make a difference in other dogs’ lives the way my trainer did for mine. It’s been 6 years since I have put either of my dogs in a kennel, and I can say my dogs and I are as happy as we’ve ever been. It’s all about communication. Our dogs want to make us happy as much as we want to make them happy. If I could do for one family what was done for mine, I would call my journey a success. I am forever grateful and in debt to Suzanne and Jason for giving Meg and I the opportunity and perfect setting to do just that, and I am so excited to get started!