Teresa is a hard-working, fun-loving, science-based CPDT-KA certified dog/cat trainer with 20 years of animal experience. She got her start as a dog bather in her hometown of Hudson, OH in high school. After graduating college from St Louis University in 2009 with a meteorology degree, she decided switch gears back to dogs and worked at several doggie daycares and pet sitting companies from St Louis to Nashville for the next five years. In 2014, she decided to make her passion for dogs into a career, moving to Texas to complete a comprehensive dog training course with her German Shepherd mix Binx as her perfect student and companion.

In 2016, Teresa moved back to Hudson, OH and volunteered with a local Search and Rescue team, earning a SAR Tech II certification. She then made the cross-country trip with Binx and her cat Archimedes to Portland, OR in 2018. There she worked as a dog hiking guide, leading group adventures and training reactive dogs while getting her Certified Professional Dog Trainer-Knowledge Assessed certification.

The People’s Pup was formulated in 2020 in hopes of changing the dog industry to a more equal and communal workplace. Teresa ran The People’s Pup in Portland for 5 years conducting group adventures, training walks and private lessons, and worked as a contract trainer for Oregon Humane Society teaching puppy classes, manners classes, and virtual cat classes.

In March of 2025, Teresa made the journey back to Akron, Ohio with her dog Phineas and two cats Lancelot and Galahad to start the new chapter of The People’s Pup. She currently helps train rescue dogs at Buckeye’s Mission and Sanctuary and fosters cats through Viva Los Gatos Cat Rescue. Aside from dog training, Teresa stays active by running and practicing yoga daily, making homemade ice cream, drinking local beer, and listening to quality music.