Aishe has been training dogs and their people since 2001. After her post-graduate certification, she stayed on at the SPCA as a public class teacher and on-call trainer for the next 3 years before starting SF Puppy Prep with Stephanie Miller. Alongside her work with rescue dogs at the SPCA, Aishe was the behaviorist at the East Bay Berkeley Humane Society. Aishe is passionate about teaching and supporting dog owners as much as the dogs themselves. She strives to make SF Puppy Prep’s classes and curriculum practical, doable, and enjoyable.

She lives in San Francisco with her mini poodle, Farfel, and her rescue dog, Lola.

Stephanie has worked with dogs and their owners for over a decade, first in a pet hospital, then as a staff trainer and public class instructor for Perfect Paws Dog Training Academy, and finally as a private trainer and dog walker. Together with business partner Aishe Berger, Stephanie opened SF Puppy Prep daycare and training facility in 2005. She wholeheartedly believes in the power of positive training methods for all animals, and has witnessed its successful implementation on dogs as well as friends and relatives!

She lives in San Francisco with her two mixed-breed rescue dogs, Ruby and Alberta.

Marissa Martino: Training Programs Manager
Marissa Martino graduated from the SFSPCA Academy for Dog Trainers in San Francisco and went off to work for the Humane Society of Boulder Valley in Colorado. For two years, Marissa trained and implemented positive behavior modification techniques for shelter dogs with various behavioral issues, such as resource guarding, fear and dog-dog aggression. Marissa has developed curriculum and taught many different types of classes. Her passion is educating the public. She is thrilled to be back in her favorite city with her new black lab mix, Sully.

Brenda Cawley: SF/SPCA Certified Trainer, APDT member
Brenda is an honors graduate of The San Francisco SPCA Academy for Dog Trainers and holds a Masters Degree in Communication. Brenda lives in San Francisco but is originally from Northern Ireland. Brenda also offers group off-leash dog walking for small dogs.

Kim Moeller: SF/SPCA Certified Trainer, APDT member
Kim is a certified professional dog trainer and dog walker. She graduated from the renowned SF/SPCA Dog Training Academy in 1999. Her speciality is dog-dog aggression and for which she has become a nationally recognized expert. Kim has written articles and given lectures all over the world, and recently published the book on the topic titled, “Reactive Rover”. She developed the Growly Dog Curriculum for the SF SPCA, and is a highly experienced instructor on all areas of dog-training. Kim also co-founded the Dog Walking Academy in 2003, which gives dog walkers the necessary training to become certified dog walkers in their community. She lives with her two Bichons, Willy and Kitty, who are sometimes used as therapy dogs, to help teach reactive dogs play-skills.

Mac: SF SPCA Certified Trainer, APDT Member
Mac in an honors graduate of The San Francisco SPCA Academy for Dog Trainers, and upon completion, returned to the Academy as a coach and to the SPCA as an intern trainer. Mac also offers private training, daily off-leash adventures, and boarding.

Ruthanna Levy: SF SPCA Certified Trainer, APDT Member
Ruthanna’s love for dog training was ignited after she adopted rescue pup Ziggy 7 years ago. She has been a professional dog trainer for 5 years. Before joining us at SF Puppy Prep, she taught puppy classes at Sirius as well as her famous Canine Freestyle classes, which have become sell-out events throughout the Bay Area.

Laura Ast: Daycare Office Manager
Laura has been a dog lover all of her life. When growing up in Illinois and New York Laura was the main caretaker for the family dog, a miniature Schnauzer named Max. This early experience as a dog owner developed into a deep seated love for dogs. Throughout her adult life she has been a guardian for other dogs including her own and those she has fostered. She has completed training programs at the San Francisco SPCA and the Berkeley SPCA for socializing dogs to prepare them for adoption. She currently lives in San Francisco with her husband John and their wire fox terrier, Koda.

Michelle Martens: Daycare Head Trainer
SF SPCA Certified Trainer, APDT Member
Michelle is an honors graduate of the San Francisco SPCA Academy for Dog Trainers. After graduating from the Academy, Michelle completed an internship with the San Francisco SPCA Behavior and Training Department. In addition to training shelter dogs during her internship, she earned certificates in Curriculum Design and Puppy Socialization. She runs the daycare training program at SF Puppy Prep, making sure all the pups are in appropriate play groups and learning their ABCs. She is also one of SF Puppy Prep's public dog training class instructors. Michelle lives in San Francisco with her rescue pup Bai Bee and her cats Miss Melody and Leo.

Athena Gabriel: Puppy Counselor
Athena is a San Francisco native, and has always been involved with animals. Her knowledge and attention to detail are great assets for SF Puppy Prep. Athena's attachment to her daycare puppies is strong: She often sheds a tear when an older pup graduates into the adult world. Athena offers pet sitting services.

Susie Leni: Puppy Counselor
Before joining the team at SF Puppy Prep, Susie shared her love of dogs as a handler at multiple San Francisco dog daycares, as well as one in Paris, France. In her spare time, she enjoys volunteering with local bay area rescues and with San Francisco Animal Care and Control's Give A Dog A Bone program. Now having graduated from SF State with a bachelors degree in French and Spanish, she is focusing on furthering her understanding of companion animals, to later apply her acquired knowledge to a dog behavior counseling certification or a masters degree in animal shelter administration. Susie offers pet sitting services.

Kevin Roth: Puppy Counselor
Kevin's desire to learn about training and his love of puppies is inherent. His past experience includes 1½ years at an East Bay Dog Daycare, where he was a Doggy Attendant and Boarding Manager. His gentle can-do attitude makes him a favorite amongst the puppies and his co-workers.

Scarlett Cermak: Puppy Counselor
Scarlett is the newest member of the Puppy Prep team. Originally from Chicago, where she volunteered with humane societies working to bring their homeless pets together with loving people, she is an avid animal lover of anything that walks, crawls or swims. She helped to run an in-home reptile rescue and became a scuba diving instructor hoping to educate people about life under the sea. She now lives in San Francisco with her dog, Calvin. Scarlett offers pet sitting services.

Josh Boutelle
dogTEC Certified Dog Walker
Josh has a long history working around animals, starting his volunteer work at the San Francisco SPCA at the age of 9. The training staff there took him under their wing, and for many years he helped run play groups, socialize puppies, walk dogs, and even help out in behavioral testing sessions. So it was no surprise that he should choose to work in the field. A graduate of the dogTEC Dog Walking Academy, Josh particularly enjoys helping dogs practice their manners and learn new tricks. Josh offers pet sitting services.

Julie Gunther
dogTEC Certified Dog Walker
Since her childhood, Julie has always had a variety of animals in her life. She strongly advocates adopting from animals rescues, and won’t hesitate in taking an active roll in saving a lost animal. Julie has completed both the dogTEC Dog Walking Academy and the PetTech first aid program. In an effort to grow her knowledge of training, she periodically volunteers as an assistant for various SF Puppy Prep classes. She has the most awesome time with the dogs she walks, and can’t imagine doing anything else. Except perhaps sailing and dog walking. At the same time. If that was possible. She is happy to offer pet sitting at clients homes as well.

Cassara Groesbeck: Dog Walker