MEDICAL MUTTS SERVICE DOGS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Media & Maintenance Manager
Anthony has a passion for animals of all kinds. Son of Jennifer Cattet, co-founder of Medical Mutts, he grew up in France and in Indiana amongst dogs, cats, horses, chicken, and other furry or feathered friends. He understands and values the deep connection one can make with an animal. As a Falconer and a dog trainer, Anthony places his work and his heart into making a difference in the lives of those who can't speak for themselves.
But to make a real impact, it takes more than one person and one organization. It's through the connections that we make, the volunteers who lend a hand, and the sponsors who put out the funds that we can help more people and more dogs. With his big smile and his heart on his sleeve, Anthony's role is to raise awareness and bring everyone together so that we can make a difference in the lives of people living with a disability and dogs that have been abandoned.
Anthony is in charge of media and creates all the videos for Medical Mutts. His multi-talents also extend to building and fixing so whenever needed, he also oversees repairs and construction around our facility.
Bonnie has been working at Medical Mutts since February 2020. She was preciously an intern at Medical Mutts during 2019. She has been working with dogs since 2017 at a few dog daycare facilities and is familiar with many dog breeds and personalities. She lives with her Australian Shepherd, Chloe, on the west side of Indianapolis.
Cara's mission is to find all the wonderful dogs that we can train as service dogs. She's in touch with the different rescues in the area and is always keeping her eye out for the right dog.
Cara has been involved in the training of service dogs for over 10 years. She believes that positive reinforcement methods are not only the most effective methods for working dogs but also the only humane and proven approach.
She has a heart for the dogs who find themselves in rescues and shelters to no fault of their own and spends hours visiting the local shelters and rescues, looking for dogs that might get a new lease on life through our program.
Job Titles:
- Director of Client Services
Eva puts her heart and energy into helping our clients with their service dogs. She truly cares about the success of the partnership and applies her knowledge and skills in the coaching and support of our clients.
In addition to being a certified dog trainer, Eva is also a board-certified Music Therapist with a focus in Neurologic Music Therapy, NICU and general pediatrics. She also facilitates healing through rhythms and clinical hypnosis.
Eva is a passionate dog lover and has taken her personal dog Nico trough the CGC and Therapy dog certification. She has joined Indy Disk Dog, Agility and Nosework. She is also training her dog Nico with Midwest Search Dogs
Job Titles:
- Director of Finance and Administration
Jack is often the first person you'll get to talk to when you call the office. He'll take the time to listen and understand your needs and will go over our different programs so you can make the best decision. If we can't help you, he'll try to direct you to the right source and provide you with all the information you need about service dogs in general.
Jack is in charge of finances and administration. He also provides customer support and services and is also responsible for maintaining social media accounts and looking for and posting inspirational and informative stories about service dogs. If you follow us on our Facebook page, you'll see regular postings about service dog stories, changes in the laws, training information, and more, that Jack has found for us.
Jack is also responsible for staff management and supply purchasing. He has been involved in service dog training for close to 8 years and is always looking for new ways to help both the people and the dogs.
Jennifer, along with her husband Jack Topham, founded Medical Mutts with two goals in mind: helping those who need service dogs and helping dogs that have been abandoned.
Jennifer has a Doctorate in Psychology with a specialization in Animal Behavior (Ethology). She completed her studies at the Faculty of Psychology in Geneva Switzerland. She has worked professionally as a dog trainer and behaviorist since 1988.
Jennifer started the first professional dog training school based on clicker training in France (Animalin). She is the co-author of an award-winning book on dog behavior (in French) and the producer/director of a DVD on clicker training (in French).
With her scientific background, she contributes to ongoing research in the field of medical detection (Diabetes, Seizures, Cancer). Given her expertise in the field, as well as her fluency in both English and French, Jennifer also coaches service dog organizations and trainers in Europe about service dog training for Diabetes and Seizures. Her coaching services can be found at https://assistancedog.center/.
Melissa has a challenging mission to supervise the training of all of our dogs. She makes sure the trainers are up to date with the latest training techniques, maintains our standards of training, and provides guidance and support when needed.
Melissa has an extensive background in animal training. She has learned and worked for some of the most accomplished trainers in the world.
Under world-renowned Dr. Sophia Yin, she worked with both cats and dogs, in training, low-stress management, and teaching.
Melissa also comes with years of experience working in shelters and laboratories. She is an expert in assessing cats and dogs, developing and implementing behavior modification protocols and teaching owners how to better interact with their animals.
Michelle has a true love for the dogs. She started with Medical Mutts as an intern in 2015 and is now employed as a trainer. Motivated by a strong desire to learn how to better understand dogs and train them to be Service Dogs, Michelle has dedicated her time to developing her skills to become a dog trainer and providing a better life to the dogs she works with.
She enjoys taking the dogs home and socializing them in many different places, to get them used to grocery shopping, going out to eat, and visiting the doctor's office.
Michelle graduated from Ball State University with a degree in Psychology.
Michelle is a Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner.
Michelle is certified CPR and First Aid
Job Titles:
- Fundraising and Marketing Manager
Shawn grew up in Noblesville but made his way down to South Carolina for studies in marketing & advertising and landed his first job out of school back in Indianapolis helping launch a major e-commerce website with Finish Line. Later he made his way back to school studying photography and design at Purdue University.
During school, Shawn and his family started an on-line site selling American Made pet products which eventually turned into a physical store that included a self-serve pet wash, bakery, photo studio and pet supplies called Wipe Your Pawz!.
Recently he had been working on a project, he came up with the idea many years ago, to help raise funds and marketing efforts for police, service and working dogs.
Shawn is married to a wonderful ICU Nurse Catherine, son Evan and 3 rescue mutts Maui, Brody and Penny.