Mary Sellaro joined Pooches Paradise as the director of training in 2012. A former dog daycare owner, she has been training dogs since 1990. Mary teaches obedience training in group and private lessons, from puppy level to advanced, and helps pet owners train dogs with behavior and aggression issues.

Mary is a certified American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen evaluator and has been the temperament test evaluator for the Children’s Mercy Hospital Pet Pal Program and Pets for Life, Inc. She also developed and implements the Kansas City Retired Greyhounds as Pets (KCREGAP) training program to rehabilitate former racing dogs in preparation for adoption.

Mary is a recurring guest and canine behavioral consultant on Talk Radio 710 KCMO and Hot Talk 1510 KCTE. She is a regular contributor to MetroPet Magazine and a published author on canine behavior and training in numerous pet-related publications.

Hannah Laitner joined Pooches Paradise as the Kennel Manager in 2016. She has dedicated her career to the love and care of dogs. A life-long dog lover, Hannah’s first job was a kennel attendant at a local veterinary office. She went on to work many dog-related jobs in the Kansas City area, including daycare, boarding and private dog-sitting. Hannah’s goal is to become a certified dog trainer. Currently, her retriever, Onyx, is training to become a therapy dog so they can visit the elderly and volunteer in the community.

Pooches Paradise has had the advantageous opportunity to have Amy Lopez in their employ since October of 2013. Amy has a long standing love for dogs as her mother was an independent dog rescuer throughout her childhood and teen years. She grew up surrounded by and handling dogs of various sizes and temperaments, including feral and aggressive rescues. Amy’s natural affinity for dogs led her to choose a career path in that direction and she has been working professionally with dogs for the last 12 years throughout the Kansas City area. Throughout the years, Amy has developed an excellent rapport with people and a proficiency for training and assessing staff members in dog body language and handling. These skills, along with her experience and background, made Amy a natural fit for a newly created position (for her) at Pooches Paradise- Senior Behavioral Trainer. In her spare time, Amy loves to hang out with friends, family and her beloved 12 year old rat terrier mix-Minnie, reading, bowling, watching movies and playing video games.

Jessica has been an avid dog and nature enthusiast for as long as she can remember. She began working with dogs in 2010 at a local pet resort. Jessica proved to be a fast learner and with a certain degree of tenacity, worked her way up from a Customer Service Representative into a management position. She joined the Pooches Paradise team in August of 2017 as a Kennel Shift Supervisor and her instinctual aptitude and interest in canine behavior made her a natural candidate for the Apprentice Dog Trainer Program as well as Behavioral Team Member.

Jessica graduated from the University of Missouri in 2016 with a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy. She enjoys spending time with her significant other, Luke, and 2 dogs, Riley, an 8 year old Jack Russell Terrier and newest member of the family, Aspen, a 6 month old Cattle Dog puppy. She loves gardening, hiking and fishing and future goals include being a dog trainer and returning to school to pursue a Master’s Degree in history and become a naturalist for the National Park Service.

Samantha’s interest and love of dogs drove her to explore her options and seek an education in the pet industry. She completed her goal and graduated from Animal Behavior College with certifications in both the Veterinary Assistant and Dog Training Programs in 2012. It soon became apparent she was more drawn to the dog behavior and training side of the field. She began a search in that direction and accepted a front desk receptionist position with Pooches Paradise in 2015. Samantha worked her way up to Front Desk Manager, and although she enjoyed this position immensely, her passion for the dogs pulled her towards the hands-on side of becoming part of the kennel staff. Samantha began attending training classes with resident Pooches trainer, Mary Sellaro and with her background, knowledge and handling skills, Samantha was chosen to take part in the Apprentice Dog Trainer Program. These skills made her a natural fit to become a Behavioral Team Member. Samantha has recently been promoted to Kennel Shift Supervisor.

When she is not at Pooches, Samantha enjoys spending time with her daughter and family, going to the park and having quality time at home. Samantha’s 4 legged child is a 6 year old shepherd mixed dog named Hercules who she is currently working with diligently to become her “demonstration dog” when she completes the apprenticeship program. Samantha’s future goals include becoming a dog trainer and helping to shape Pooches Paradise into becoming the best it can be for our clients and their pups.