Meet The Canine Journal Team

Chief Dog Officer

Lily Schenker

Lily is a Heinz 57, mixed-breed dog who loves snuggling more than any mutt we’ve ever met. At 14 years of age, she’s also seen a lot in her canine world that we can all learn from. She is a true resource to our team.

Chief Dog Officer

Barley Schenker

Barley is the definition of energetic. He always has a ball in his mouth and a wag in his tail, ready for any adventure. His love of toys and treats makes him a true expert and one we rely on for much of our product testing.

Writer & Pet Insurance Expert

Kimberly Alt

Kimberly is a writer and content strategist for Canine Journal, specializing in pet insurance consulting. She has written and edited professionally since 2010.

In 2014, Kimberly began researching dogs and discovered her passion for pet insurance. She strongly advocates for insuring pets and knows insurance is a complex subject for most. Kimberly has read hundreds of pet insurance policies (including the fine print), ran more than 3,000 pet insurance quotes, engages in frequent discussions with pet insurer representatives, and conducts mystery shopping to gain an unbiased perspective and explain how companies differ and their strengths. Her passion is teaching others about the pet insurance industry and helping them make informed decisions for their pet insurance needs.

Kimberly has a B.A. in Multimedia Journalism from Simpson College. She is a Dog Writers Association of America member, and her work has appeared in many brands, including The New York Times’ Wirecutter, Reader’s Digest, Forbes, People, Woman’s World, and Huffington Post. Kimberly is the parent of a rescue Coonhound mix, Sally.

Follow Kimberly On Social Media: LinkedIn

Creative & Marketing

Sadie Cornelius

Sadie graduated from the Moody School of Communications at the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor’s in Advertising and a business concentration from UT’s McCombs School Of Business. She has covered dog-related topics for Canine Journal since 2012. Her dog advice and expertise have appeared in many notable media outlets, including The New York Times, Forbes, People, Reader’s Digest, Apartment Therapy, and dozens of regional news organizations. Sadie’s love of pets started from an early age with her childhood Cocker Spaniel and cats and is a dog mom to a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Georgie.

Follow Sadie On Social Media: LinkedIn

Partnerships & Analytics

Jeff Butler

Since joining the Canine Journal in 2012, Jeff has been involved in shaping future content topics and partnerships. His involvement revolves around behind-the-scenes work, including maintaining and enhancing key pet partnerships, analyzing traffic data, and ensuring the site remains a trusted and informative hub for all things dog. He is currently a pet parent to a Goldendoodle dog, Gary.

Follow Jeff On Social Media: LinkedIn

Writer & Editor

Sally Jones

Sally has over 25 years of professional research, writing, and editing experience. Since joining Canine Journal (CJ) in 2015, she has researched and tested hundreds of dog accessories, services, and dog foods. In addition, she brings decades of experience in health sciences writing and communications and is the CJ resident expert on canine health issues. Sally holds a BA in English from James Madison University and an MA from the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Journalism & Mass Communications. Her work has appeared in several notable media outlets, including The Washington Post, Entrepreneur, People, Forbes, and Huffington Post. Sally is currently a pet parent to a rescue dog, Tiny, and three rescue cats.

Follow Sally On Social Media: LinkedIn

Writer

Danielle DeGroot

Danielle graduated from Colorado State University Global with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications and a specialization in Marketing. Her work has supported multiple small businesses, brands, and larger organizations, including the University of Denver. She is a lifelong supporter of rescue pets and has adopted almost every animal she has ever met that needed a home. Danielle is an expert in product reviews, pet food, dog names, pet behavior, and breeds. Her rescue dogs, Falkor, a Poodle Beagle mix, and Daisy, a Pitbull Lab mix, serve as Canine Journal’s in-house dog food testers and have tested over 50 kinds of dog food. She also has three rescue cats.

Follow Danielle & Her Dog On Social Media: LinkedIn & Instagram

Writer

Emma Braby

For the last 5 years, Emma has specialized in writing canine content on Canine Journal, sharing her expertise with dog lovers around the world. Her dog knowledge comes from being a dog owner, professional dog walker, time spent traveling around Europe as a dog sitter, and volunteering in her local rescue centers for the last 15 years.

Emma currently has two rescue dogs and hopes to adopt as many dogs as her backyard will allow.

Follow Emma & Her Dog On Social Media: LinkedIn & Instagram

Writer & Social Media

Tara Maurer

Tara is a writer and content creator for Canine Journal, specializing in health and nutrition. She has 8+ years of experience in the wellness industry, where she has worked with countless dog parents on holistic approaches to healing and aging. Tara holds a B.A. in Multimedia Journalism from Simpson College and is also an AFPA-certified holistic nutritionist. She currently lives with a very good boy named Rio, a Golden Retriever, and “the girls” Luna and Lucy, his feline siblings.

Follow Tara On Social Media: LinkedIn

Writer & Dental Hygienist

Julie Fritz

Julie is a writer and researcher for Canine Journal and the team’s dental expert. With over 15 years in the dental field and her love of human’s best friend, she has found a unique passion for learning all there is to know about dogs’ dental health and brings that knowledge to our readers. Her professional writing career began in 2012 and she also enjoys writing in-depth breed-specific articles and researching products and information to help pet parents care for their pups. Growing up, she enjoyed living in a house that always had a Brittany Spaniel and is very happy now when she gets to spoil the dogs in her life with love and snuggles.

Follow Julie On Social Media: LinkedIn

Veterinarian

Dr. Katherine Baldwin

Katherine qualified from the Royal Veterinary College, London, in 2010. She started her professional life in mixed practice, working across small animal, farm, and equine sectors. She spent seven years working in a busy, 24-hour small animal hospital in Cambridgeshire, providing routine and emergency care. Her professional interests are in medical workups, oncology, and ultrasonography. She is passionate about client education and empowering pet owners with the knowledge to improve patient welfare and access to veterinary services.

Veterinarian

Dr. Alison Foucault

After graduating in 2006 from the University of Montreal, Dr. Alison Foucault, DVM, MRCVS, moved to San Diego to complete an internship specializing in small animal emergency and critical care. She has been practicing in this specific field ever since. She has been using her experience more recently to help design new animal hospitals and get them off the ground. Dr. Foucault also helps train recent graduates in Emergency and Critical Care. Additionally, she has worked in the TV and film production world as a Vet On Set for the last three years.

Follow Alison On Social Media: LinkedIn

Veterinarian

Dr. Elizabeth Racine

Dr. Elizabeth Racine is a small animal veterinarian with a passion for improving the lives of pets. She has worked in the veterinary field in various roles for more than a decade, with professional interests in behavior, nutrition, and palliative care. As a writer, her work has been featured by several world-renowned pet health and wellness brands. Dr. Racine shares her home with her dog Dasher – a beagle with his own storied career training new veterinary students – and her two mischievous young cats, Wasabi and Sake.

Follow Elizabeth On Social Media: LinkedIn

Veterinarian

Dr. JoAnna Pendergrass

JoAnna earned her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree from the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine. Choosing to use her veterinary training in a different way, she decided to become a medical writer. Since beginning her freelance medical writing business in 2016, JoAnna has written hundreds of articles on pet care and pet health. She is passionate about using her writing to close the gap between what the veterinarian says and what the pet parent understands. JoAnna grew up with two dog, Dudley and Petrov.

Follow JoAnna On Social Media: LinkedIn

Veterinarian

Dr. Miriam Collister

Miriam graduated with a distinction in Veterinary Science in 2013. She works full-time in a companion animal clinic doing consultations, surgery, and working nights and weekends providing emergency care out-of-hours. Miriam’s main veterinary interest is in diagnostic imaging, which includes radiography and ultrasound. This has led her to complete a post-graduate certificate in diagnostic imaging within the last year.

Veterinarian

Dr. Joanna Woodnutt

Dr. Joanna Woodnutt MRCVS is a qualified veterinarian working in the UK. She has a passion for educating owners to help them understand their pets: she believes that knowing why something happens, how drugs work, and even when to worry helps owners to feel more confident in caring for their dogs.  Jo is one of our featured vets here at Love Your Dog.

At school Jo was one of those students who didn’t know what they wanted to do. She loved science, but wanted to be an author, too! Luckily, common sense prevailed and she decided to pursue the sciences in the hope of a simpler career path.

Jo graduated from the University of Nottingham and holds a degree in Veterinary Science (BVMedSci) and a degree in Veterinary Medicine and Surgery (BVM BVS). After graduating, she worked in companion animal practice in the UK for several years, dealing with patients young and old.

She found a love of consulting, and particularly loved it when a complex concept needed to be explained to an owner- but she could only help one owner at a time. Thanks to an old school friend, Jo was thrust back into the world of writing and realised she could combine her two loves after all and help more people understand their pets!

Jo now works as a vet two days a week in a large companion animal practice. The rest of the time she spends writing about animals for websites and magazines, continuing her work of helping owners to better understand their pets. Her rescue terrier, Pixie, can often be found on her lap when she’s writing- she makes a great hot water bottle!”

Follow Joanna On Social Media: LinkedIn

Veterinarian

Dr. Hannah Godfrey

After graduating from the Royal Veterinary College in 2011, Dr. Hannah Godfrey BVetMed MRCVS went on to work in a busy practice dealing with animals of all shapes and sizes. She’s since found a love of smaller animals and now works in a small companion animal practice in Wales, where she combines her love of animals with her love of writing.

Follow Hannah On Social Media: LinkedIn

Veterinarian

Dr. Sarah-Jane Molier

Sarah-Jane currently works part-time in Veterinary Management and spends the rest of her time writing. In the past, she has worked in a charity clinic, as a locum, and for both independent and corporate veterinary practices, doing clinical and managerial roles.

Follow Sarah-Jane On Social Media: LinkedIn

Veterinarian

Dr. Rebecca MacMillan

Rebecca MacMillan VetMed MRCVS is a companion animal veterinarian and surgeon who has always had a passion for writing and client communication. Since her graduation from England’s Royal Veterinary college in 2009, she has gained a wealth of experience in first opinion small animal practice, in both clinical and managerial roles.

Rebecca currently works in the South West of England and deals with a variety of routine and emergency appointments, but particularly enjoys medicine cases. Outside of work and writing, she enjoys spending time with her family, including her bouncy flat-coated retriever George!

Follow Rebecca On Social Media: LinkedIn

Veterinarian

Dr. Holly Anne Hills

Holly graduated from Nottingham in 2018. After some time as a farm animal vet, Holly travelled to India and volunteered with dogs and other small animals there. She is passionate about the health of the planet’s non-human creatures and providing veterinary care to those most in need, she also spent some time in India where she volunteered as a small animal vet. Holly now combines writing with working as a small animal vet, as well as volunteering with VetSustain’s communications and social media team. Holly loves anything to do with pet owner education and preventative healthcare. When not working or volunteering, she can be found outdoors bird watching, swimming, running, and spending time with her pets!

Veterinarian

Dr. Ellen Marcinkiewicz

Ellen Marcinkiewicz BVSc. MRCVS, graduated from the University of Melbourne in 2012. She’s since worked as a small animal veterinarian in her home country of Australia, as well as at the Massey University Teaching Hospital in New Zealand. Her most memorable experience as a teaching vet was running a charity spay/neuter program for final year vet students in Samoa.

Her love of traveling the world has now led her to the UK, where she currently works as a veterinarian and freelance veterinary writer based in Somerset.

Ellen is passionate about education and all things pet health including surgery, medicine, behavior, and nutrition. In her free time, Ellen enjoys hiking, travel, yoga, and modern calligraphy.

Follow Ellen On Social Media: LinkedIn

Veterinarian

Dr. Emma Rogers-Smith

Before qualifying as a Veterinary Surgeon from Cambridge University, Emma worked part-time at a small animal veterinary clinic. After graduation, that role evolved into her first job as a veterinary surgeon. After 18-months, she decided to advance her veterinary training, undertaking rotating internships followed by 2.5 years of residency training as an Internal Medicine Clinician at a large multidisciplinary referral hospital in the UK.

She has always had a passion for solving puzzles, and the really tricky Internal Medicine cases are her favorite. Emma has published several first-author research papers and is actively involved in ongoing Internal Medicine and Antibiotic Stewardship research projects.

Follow Emma On Social Media: LinkedIn

Veterinarian

Dr. Amber LaRock

My name is Amber LaRock. I am a Licensed Veterinary Technician (LVT) with an A.A.S in veterinary technology. I’ve taken my career online to spread knowledge on animal welfare, as far and often as I can! I grew up with a deep passion for helping animals and knew that it was my life’s purpose. After gaining my degree in veterinary technology along with my license, I began work in an emergency animal hospital.

With the experience I gained from my time in the hospital, I have been able to travel the world, offering my services to as many animal rescues as I can find. If I am not at my laptop, or back home visiting family, you can find me somewhere in the world, cuddling every furry friend that I can find!

Follow Amber On Social Media: Instagram

Writer

MJ Shaffer

MJ Shaffer graduated from Duke University and North Carolina State. She teaches High School English and runs a working Kiko goat farm with her three children. With her goats, MJ keeps Sam, an Anatolian Shepherd, and Sadie, an Anatolian/Kangal mix to guard against coyotes and other predators.

Writer

Yani Perez

Yani is a freelance writer, dog lover, educator, and theater fan. She was raised in a home with a variety of pets, including fancy pigeons, dogs, bunnies, and cats. Growing up, she and her family rescued animals, which is a practice she continues today. She is an avid animal advocate and enjoys helping others learn about and appreciate animals. She has worked in veterinarian clinics, a doggy daycare, a zoo, and the ASPCA.  Her four dogs, two pugs, and two Shih Tzu mixes passed away, but she carries them close to her heart.

Writer

Shannon Maguire

Shannon Maguire is a seasoned traveler, reader, animal lover, rescue advocate, and dog mom. Her zest for life and its adventures has always contributed to a deep passion for storytelling. This love of storytelling became intertwined with her love of dogs during the slow summer walks of her childhood with her beloved Golden Retriever named Guinness. As an adult, the special bond she shared with Guinness shines through in all facets of her writing and her life.

Shannon is a Content Creator for Pet Industry websites and businesses. She is a passionate rescue advocate and has fostered many dogs from local shelters. She is a part-time dog sitter and a full-time dog lover. Shannon resides in Los Angeles with her two rescues, a 10-pound spaniel mix named Boots and a 100-pound Great Dane/Lab mix named Bear. This oddly sized pair informs much of her writing. If you’d like to keep up with Boots and Bear’s many adventures, please check out Shannon’s personal blog at Doggo Dance.

Writer

Gemma Johnstone

Gemma is a freelance writer and official dog nut.  With 15 years of experience in the Pet Industry, she is a passionate animal welfare advocate and enjoys furthering her dog-related knowledge.   Gemma has worked for the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, ran her own specialist dog shop for ten years.

Gemma has also volunteered for her local rescue shelter, and is studying towards completing an Advanced Diploma in Canine Behaviour. Gemma is currently traveling around Europe with her wonderful rescue dog, Annie.

Writer

Kristin Hitchcock

Kristin Hitchcock has loved pets since she was a child. She grew up in Tennessee and lives there with her husband and young daughter. She currently has several pets, including four dogs, three cats, two fish, and three lizards.

She is passionate about helping pet parents make educated decisions and increasing awareness of little-known pet topics. She loves helping owners stay up-to-date on current scientific information and giving practical advice on all things pets.

Dog Trainer

Janet Wall

Janet Wall has many years of experience handling and training dogs.

Jan grew up in Southfield, Michigan, with two brothers and a sister. When Jan was two years old, her parents took in a collie named Laddie. The family also had a fox terrier, a dachshund, and a German shepherd at the time.

Through Jan’s teenage years, she studied all she could about dogs, their care, and training. She loved reading books about dogs, especially Lassie Come Home by Eric Knight and the Lad a Dog series by Albert Payson Terhune. Jan joined dog clubs, and her collies won ribbons at dog shows.

After High School, Jan went to Eastern Michigan University, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Education and her Teaching Credential. She began teaching in Michigan Public Schools in 1974, the first nine years with deaf and hard-of-hearing students. Jan was awarded a Master of Arts in Early Childhood Education at Western Michigan University in 1980.

Collies remained Jan’s passion, and she enjoyed competing in the AKC competition. She trained Duke, Star, and Brandi for obedience trials. She conducted dog obedience classes for children and adults.

Jan moved to San Diego, California, in 1982 and received a Communication Handicap Specialist Credential from San Diego State University and her Multiple Subjects Teaching Credential for California Public Schools. Jan continued teaching special and general education, kindergarten through sixth grade, in Chula Vista, California.
In 1985 Jan designed a Humane Education Program to teach kindness and responsibility to children. She developed a lesson series using dogs as the theme and, along with her collies, Trouper and Kelly, Jan taught the lessons at schools in Chula Vista, CA. Later, Jan would adapt her Humane Education Program for the Internet and create the website HowToLoveYourDog.com.

Besides her professional work, Jan served as a volunteer puppy trainer for Canine Companions for Independence. She promoted pet food drives for Animals. Jan joined Therapy Dogs International in 1988 and began regular therapy dog work with Trouper in health facilities for severely handicapped children and Alzheimer’s patients.

Jan joined the volunteer staff at Alvarado Hospital in 1991. Along with Trouper and Kelly, her second therapy dog, she visited stroke and brain-injured patients.

Jan took leave from the school district in 1998. She found a partial replacement for her love of teaching in the creation of this website. How to Love Your Dog was based on Jan’s original Humane Education Program. In 2003 Jan launched a second website as a resource for therapy dog owners, Therapy Dogs.Net.

Until the spring of 2006, Jan volunteered at Kaiser Hospital in the pediatric oncology department. Cody and Bailey, Jan’s registered therapy dogs, provided comfort and friendship to children receiving chemotherapy treatments.

Jan also was responsible for the orientation of new therapy dogs and their handlers at Alvarado Hospital. Currently, she enjoys her hobbies: dog agility, gardening, and photography.

Janet was the founder of Love Your Dog, which was acquired by Canine Journal in 2024. She is no longer affiliated with the site.

Writer

Amanda

Amanda won’t settle for second best. With an incredibly playful pup, dog toys don’t last long in her home. She is determined to find the safest and most durable dog toys for your dog.

Veterinarian

Dr. Sara Ochoa, DVM

Sara is a practicing veterinarian in a small animal hospital in East Texas.

Dr. Sara earned her Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from St. George University and has over 7 years of experience working as a veterinarian for Whitehouse Veterinary Hospital in Whitehouse, TX. Prior to vet school, she attended Louisiana Tech for her undergraduate degree and also went back to LSU for clinical rounds after completing veterinary school. During undergrad, Sara worked at a local veterinary clinic as a kennel assistant and veterinary technician. 

With years of experience in the field, she is a treasure trove of knowledge on all things animal-related.

Writer

Chelsie

When it comes to reviewing, Chelsie takes it seriously. From walking in rain for hours to test LED collars to cleaning dozens of houses for free to test fur removers, she is determined to find the best dog products on the market!