Jennie is an Associate Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist through the Animal Behavior Society. She has been studying animal behavior personally and professionally her entire life. As a child, riding rescued horses and showing Shar-peis, she often found herself wondering what they were thinking and trying to predict their next move. After becoming a Registered Veterinary Technician in 1993, she became even more interested in behavior, as she strove to understand how to comfort her patients and prevent them from responding aggressively. She went on to study animal behavior, biology, and psychology, obtaining a Bachelor of Science from the University of California, Davis and a Master of Arts from California State University, Sacramento. While in graduate school, she was the behavior technician for the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine Behavior Service. While immersed in clinical behavior practice and research, she completed her master’s thesis on client compliance in the treatment of canine aggression. For many years, she worked in veterinary practice, focusing on behavior. As she noticed an increase in the number of Pit Bulls presenting for severe behavior problems, she felt called to help this group of dogs more directly. Through work with the ASPCA’s Anti-Cruelty Behavior Team and the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria, this calling became a reality. Jennie continues to serve as a professional behavior responder for the ASPCA and owns her own behavior consulting practice, Synergy Animal Behavior. She treats a wide array of behavior problems and is very passionate about collaborating with veterinarians and trainers to help her clients maintain long-term multi-faceted support. She enjoys teaching and presents on a variety of topics including: client compliance and communication, low stress and safe animal handling, indoor pet enrichment, animal and human body language, making the most of limited resources in shelter behavior programs, strategies for preventing relinquishment, common pet behavior problems, the role of the veterinary technician in the treatment of behavior problems, and case reports. She lives in the Washington DC area with her husband, two sons, two cats (Jack and Mirabelle), a Pit Bull mix named Stella, and a Boxer mix named Tully.