Animal and Client Care Specialist

Compassionate and committed to animals and their families, Jeannette has eight years experience in the Companion Animal Industry. As an independent professional dog walker, cat sitter, dog daycare manager and front desk client care specialist, and animal sheltering and rescue volunteer, she specialized in one-on-one care according to individual companion animal needs and personalities, applied her understanding of animal behavior to create positive and healthy bonds with animals, and provided superior customer service toward companion animal families.

Her work as an Animal Advocacy Writer provided increasing knowledge and insight into local, national, and international animal issues. In addition, her volunteer work in animal rescue and sheltering as a kennel attendant, shelter dog walker, and adoption counselor, she participated in educational animal workshops including but not limited to animal adoption, caregiver responsibility, trap-neuter-return, healthy force-free relationships, positive reward training, and positive canine playgroup behavior. All of these opportunities provided a wealth of experience, which translated into community education.

Jeannette combines excellent written and verbal communication skills, organizational abilities, plus a naturally friendly demeanor to enhance any work environment and provide stellar customer service. Her fourteen years customer service and six years retail experience includes: management, sales, inventory, merchandising, and completing final purchase transactions. Dedicated and reliable, she is capable of quickly learning operations and procedures, handling any physical duties, and working individually as well as a team member to support collective goals.

Independent Professional Dog Walker and Cat Sitter, Fur-Ever Friends and Pit Bull Pals

(July 2012 to June 2018)

I recruited my own clientele, managed billing and scheduling, and was responsible for the daily health, safety, and care of canine and feline clients, specializing in one on one care according to individual companion animal needs and personalities.

Animal Advocacy Writer, Examiner.com

(June 2011 to November 2014)

Dedicated to making a positive impact to promote peaceful coexistence and improve human-animal and human-human relationships, I developed my own original feature story ideas, conducted interviews, and took original photographs. I featured a wide variety of local, national, and global, animal welfare and animal rights issues. As the Official Reporter for the 2013 Anti-Fur Society Animal Rights Conference, I covered the variety of Conference Speakers and Guest Performers.

Animal Rescue Volunteer

From April 2013 to April 2014, I volunteered as an Adoption Counselor at King Street Cats, a free-roaming cat orphanage in Alexandria, Virginia. I was responsible for knowing all of the individual cats and assisted potential adopters in making educated adoption choices.

From May 2011 to June 2012, I volunteered at The Animal Welfare League of Arlington as a Kennel Assistant Adoption Counselor and Dog Walker. Familiar with the adoptable dogs, I aided potential adopters in making educated adoption choices. Walking adoptable dogs provided them with positive outdoor time and loose leash walking experience. As an active member of the AWLA Pit Crew, I worked with other volunteers to educate the public and promote the adoption of Pit Bull type dogs. During my volunteer time, I attended AWLA sponsored workshops on Trap-Neuter-Return, Positive Reward Training for shelter dogs, and positive play-group behavior modification.

Front Desk Client Care and Dog Daycare Manager, Dog Paws ‘n Cat Claws

(May 2010 to February 2011)

Responsible for the overall customer satisfaction of canine and human clients:

• Administrative duties included, but were not limited to: checked in/out daycare dogs, collected payments; answered phones and managed emails for all operations including grooming, new clients, and employees; managed client and employee files (electronic, phone, paper)

• Provided superior customer service to callers and in-facility guests

• Directed daily operations of the Dog Daycare to ensure the safety, health, and welfare of 45 to 60 daycare and boarding dogs

• Managed day-to-day operations, communication, and organization of the administrative staff

• Data Entry and Billing

• Engaged dogs in play, monitored, fed and walked dogs, executed cleaning protocols and followed Daycare Policies and Procedures

• Hired new staff and organized staff training

Book and Multimedia Seller / Merchandising and Inventory Specialist, Borders Inc

(September 2004 to May 2010 - Borders went out of business in 2011)

Trained in every aspect of store operations to provide excellent customer service:

• Provided superior customer service to callers and in-store patrons

• Knowledge of products, internal computer system, inventory and retail procedures

• Data Entry and Special Orders

• Receiving and shelving inventory

• Implemented store standards of merchandising and applied creative merchandising skills

• Operated cash register / handled cash, credit, checks

Certification

Red Cross Pet First-Aid Certification, March 2011

Animal Education and Workshops

• Animal Welfare League of Arlington / Alley Cat Allies, Trap-Neuter-Return

• Animal Welfare League of Arlington Volunteer Training with Fur-Get Me Not trainers Vivian Leven Shoemaker CPDT-KA and Tammy Rosen CPDT-KA

• Fur-Get Me Not Back to School Series, "Dog Ownership and the Law", Guest Speaker: Companion Animal Law Attorney, Heidi Meinzer

• Animal Welfare League of Arlington Volunteer Clicker Training with Fur-get Me Not trainers Vivian Leven Shoemaker and Tammy Rosen

• Playing for Life: two-day Play Group Behavior Modification and Training Program for Shelter Dogs with Aimee Sadler, LHS Director of Behavior and training, SASF Executive Director of Behavior and Training, Point of View Training and Consulting LLC

Education: B.A. Theatre Arts (Cum Laude), Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA (1990)

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