Maggie has always loved animals, from pretending to be a dog as a young child to begging her parents to keep every stray cat or dog they came across. Early in life, she aspired to be a veterinarian, before realizing that the sciences were just not the right fit. Coming from an academic family and seeing no academic careers involving animals outside the sciences, Maggie found herself detouring away from her love for animals. She attended Oberlin College in Ohio, graduating in 2011 with several majors, none of which were even remotely related to animals. Beyond the benefits of any college experience, Maggie’s time at Oberlin led to several significant discoveries: she hated the idea of spending her life behind a desk researching, she’d fallen in love with Cleveland (and still considers it her true home!), and she’d reawakened a passion for animals by adopting an extremely undersocialized, reserved rescue boxer.

Though Maggie and Ryder only shared two years together, his rehabilitation inspired Maggie to look into careers involving animals, specifically dogs (he also inspired the first of several tattoos). In 2012, Maggie began working at the largest doggie daycare in Cleveland, and by 2013 she assumed the role of General Manager. Maggie loved every bit of her daycare experience, but also found herself wanting more - more challenges, more opportunities, more ways to positively impact dogs. In 2015, Maggie was offered the opportunity to learn from a professional dog trainer with over 40 years of experience. This opportunity quickly fulfilled many of the things she’d been looking for, and she spent the next six years working closely with several seasoned trainers and helping as many dogs and families as possible.

Currently Maggie has three dogs and one cat: Peaches, an 11-year-old hound mix; Cashew, a 10-year-old beagle mix; Ausra, a 9-year-old husky; and Brecken, a 12-year-old tabby. In her free time, Maggie enjoys baking (always vegan!), board games, hiking with her pack, and spending time with family and friends, especially her adorable toddler nephews.