Joelyne is a natural born animal lover. She knew early on in life that she wanted a career working with animals. She graduated from Towson University with a B.S. degree in Business Administration. She has a Graduate Certificate from Humane Society University in Animal Studies. For seven years, Joelyne worked as the Membership and Donor Relations Manager at The Humane Society of the United States, the nations largest animal welfare organization dedicated to enforcing laws to protect animals from cruelty and neglect. During her time at HSUS, she was able to aid in animal rescue missions and helped seize several animals from inhumane conditions. Joelyne volunteers some of her time with Laurel Cats, Inc., a local organization working to reduce the overpopulation of feral cats through TNR efforts. She and her husband share their home with their son, a dog, two cats, a red-eared slider and a yellow-spotted salamander.
Justin was born and raised on a farm and has been around animals his entire life. His experience comes from caring for four horses, a pony, a goat, cats, dogs and reptiles since an early age. Justin graduated from Lincoln College of Technology in Columbia, MD with a technical degree in Automative Technology. Shortly after graduating, Justin realized that his true passion was in pet care industry. He has since helped to grow Prance Around with his wife and is a full time pet care professional. In addition to dog walking and pet sitting, Justin manages the daily office operations and sitter communications.
Cheryl is the Branch Manager of the Germantown, Maryland office. In addition to managing Prance Around, along with her husband, she is also mom to two beautiful baby boys, Logan and Scott. She currently owns a Pomeranian named Sandy, two black cats, named Batman and Louie, and a Tortie Maine Coon named Gabby, who was rescued from Kentucky. Her passion for working with pets started at a very young age when she would rescue stray cats in her neighborhood and help find them homes. In her spare time, she can be found making animal-themed jewelry.
Chris is an animal lover who is especially fond of cats. His outgoing and cheerful personality is reflected in his love of all animals and all the pets Chris has ever come across, have taken an immediate liking towards him. In his spare time, Chris enjoys building and working on computers. Chris co-manages the Germantown Branch of Prance Around with his wife Cheryl, and his dog and two cats.
Cherie has worked with and around animals all her entire life. Her family fostered animals for various animal shelters during her youth. She spent four years volunteering at Watkins Nature Center in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. She also volunteers part-time at the Smithsonian in the O. Orkin Insect Zoo. She is comfortable with every kind of animal under the sun, including reptiles, insects, and livestock, and she currently owns two cats, a rat, several tanks of fish, and a terrarium of Madagascar hissing cockroaches! Cherie is a certified Veterinary Assistant with a passion for animals, and promises to take great care of her clients pet. She looks forward to providing your pet with the love and attention they deserve.
Lynne has been an animal lover since she was a child and grew up with a dog, cats and birds. She currently lives with her husband Steve, and two Persian cats, Riley and Cody. Lynne moved to Maryland in 2013, after spending her whole life in New York, to be near her family. She is retired after working for 25 years as a legal secretary and is looking forward to spending her retirement with the animals she adores.
Shawn is a huge animal lover. He had two dogs and a cat growing up. He enjoys being around animals and has served as a pet sitter for several friends and family members over the years. Shawn has an Associate’s Degree in Secondary Education, as well as educational experience in Elementary Education and Theatre. He is heavily involved in local theatre, as well as television and in the film industry. When he is not pet sitting you can sometimes find him acting at the Laurel Mill Playhouse off Main Street! He is excited to be able work with the furry friends that Prance Around cares for!
Jennifer has a huge love for animals and grew up surrounded by everything from dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, chipmunks, snakes, ferrets, reptiles, hermit crabs and fish. Outside of owning German Shepherds, cats, fish and a Doberman through her adult life, Jennifer has volunteered her time caring for friends' pets since a very young age and carried that love for animals through rescue work. In the past several years she has helped find medical care and loving homes for feral cats, Dobermans and German Shepherds. She has experience in working with medically at-risk animals that require extra love, special diets and medication. She currently shares her family home with a 3 year old affectionate and curious ferret named “Stryker” and a goldfish named “Dot” and often cares for friends' dogs when they are away. Outside of pet sitting, Jennifer is a traffic safety manager for a national non-profit organization and enjoys being a mom, running, hiking, and painting (animals of course!). She is looking forward to spoiling your pets and giving them extra love and attention.
Kathy is a retired federal Police Office after 36 years of service. She has been working with dogs since she was 18 years old. First starting out working in a kennel for a few years. While being a Police Officer she adopted retired K9 Officers from my department who needed a home until they crossed the rainbow. She has owned and bred Min Pins and Cocker Spaniels and has trained numerous dogs for fellow Police Officers and took care of them when these Officers were out of town. She has taken in dogs that needed training so they could be adopted out. She has had a variety of dogs throughout her life, from small dogs to larger dogs including German Shepherds, Caucasian Ovacharcha and Sarplninaac. Her last 4 dogs all had passports, how neat is that?! Kathy likes to add a little bit of dog training and mental stimulation when walking dogs. She believes dogs need to work their minds just as much as their bodies. Her methods include giving commands followed by positive reinforcement. She currently has no dogs but recently did adopt two wonderful kittens from a rescue who keep her busy!
Oscar grew up in Germantown so he's a local boy but he's traveled quite a bit. In his spare time Oscar creates digital art and is a novice photographer. Growing up as a kid, he never had a chance to have a dog or cat in the house. But, once he reached adulthood, he made the choice to own, and got a best friend for life - a beautiful Siberian Husky named Dante. Oscar raised him for 13 years from small puppy to senior and looks forward to meeting and caring for your pets both young and old!
Jess has a few main passions in life and one of those is being around animals as much as possible! Whether that is walking her dog Sailor down the block, cuddling with one of her cats on the couch, or making friends with new dogs at the park, you can frequently find Jess surrounded by pets most of the time. Jess has had pets all her life and has pet-walking and pet-sitting experience as well. She recently began volunteering at a local farm and animal sanctuary and is looking forward to spending her Saturdays covered in mud and surrounded by pigs, sheep, and chicken. She has lived in Howard County for most of her life except for when she was out exploring the world or road tripping cross-country on one of her adventures. She graduated from UMBC in 2016 with a degree in Linguistics and Cultural Studies and never stops pursuing what lights her heart on fire. She loves nature, camping, and reading in addition to being cozy with fury friends and aspires to walk the Camino de Santiago one day. Jess can’t wait to visit your pets and give them so much care and attention while you’re away!
Stephanie is a U.S. Army veteran with a big love for all animals. She currently lives with two dogs (Stella, a Pit Mix and Benji, a Chihuahua/Yorkie mix) and two cats: Kylo Ren, the gray tabby and Boots, who is a rag doll mix. In high school she spent her mornings helping on her great uncle’s farm. She has worked with race horses, dogs, cats, chickens, and even peacocks, reindeer, goats, ducks, and pigs. She has also helped in delivering baby calves, goats, foals, kittens, and puppies.
Stephanie finds great joy in helping animals and nothing beats the reward of seeing a happy animal. She cannot wait to meet yours!
Amanda grew up in Columbia, Maryland. She started dog walking/pet sitting when she was fifteen years old. She has serviced her church with all of their animal care needs. Throughout her entire life, she has always had at least two cats at one time. She had a cat that recently passed that she rescued from outside and named him bandit because he stole the hearts of her and her family. Amanda has a bachelors in criminal Justice with a minor in psychology. Cesar Milan is her mentor when it comes to animals, as well as Jackson Galaxy.
Diana grew up with all kinds of pets her entire life. From reptiles to birds, dogs, and cats, she's had them all. In addition to caring for her own pets, she volunteered at the Humane Society for 3 years. During that time, she helped care for animals such as dogs and cats, cleaned their cages, walked them, fed them, played with them, taught them tricks, and worked on their mental stimulation. Diana is a personal banker, and even though she has a full-time job, her profession allows her to have some extra time to take care of other people’s pets. She currently owns a two-year-old Golden Retriever named Berlin, who she fully potty trained at just 8 weeks of age. He is now learning not to pull on the leash, as well as other tricks such as roll over, shake paw, and other commands. Diana and Berlin both love to go hiking and down to the river. Friends and family rely on her to walk, feed, train, and care for their pets, and she would love to care for yours, too :)
Rachel has been an animal lover since she was a kid. She grew up with many animals in her household, dogs, cats, birds, reptiles, hamsters, and fish. She started walking dogs/pet sitting throughout college where she attended Marymount University and even later after attending college when she got a full-time position in Human Resources. Rachel enjoyed working with animals so much that she also volunteered at Lost Dog and Cat Rescue Foundation, where she helped at adoption events and would take dogs out for daily walks/play time. Rachel recently moved to Frederick, MD where she is working as a full-time HR Coordinator working, remotely. This has allowed her the extra time to care for other’s pets. She is a current volunteer with Key to Lion’s Heart Rescue where she also fosters puppies and helps at their adoption events. She was fostering my current fur baby, Axel whom she later adopted. Rachel looks forward to meeting and caring for your pets!
Sheryl is a life-long animal lover who is recently retired from medical and pharmaceutical sales and is now free to have fun working with animals! Sheryl studied Zoology in college and always dreamed of being a vet. She worked with a vet during high school and college and gained valuable knowledge about medicating animals, including giving injections. She lives with her husband of 40 years and her lovable Lab named Buzz, plus Seamus the opinionated former barn cat. She looks forward to meeting you and your pets.
Aliisa is fond of animals of all kinds! She grew up in the southwestern part of Virginia but has been in MoCo for several years after graduating college (Shenandoah University). Growing up, her cousins had a farm and that was one of her favorite memories and things to do, to go on the farm and be with all the animals there. Although she's never technically owned a dog, she has fostered both dogs and cats. Her pets growing up consisted mostly of rodents; a hamster, chinchilla, and bunny (not all simultaneously), and even a reptile - a baby turtle she found in the yard one day. She has been involved with others' pets and pet care for almost a decade now! With Aliisa's experience she is a great addition for your day-to-day pet care and she looks forward to meeting your pets soon!!
Natalie has had many pets over the years including a rat, a hamster, a rabbit, three dogs, and cats. The dogs and cats were all rescues from BARCS and the Canine Humane Network. The Canine Humane Network does a very good job screening for happy homes for the dogs that are rescued. Currently, Natalie owns a rescued Pit mix named Sugar pie. Natalie loves to walk Sugar Pie and take her to local parks. Previously she owned a Jack Russell (Phoebe) and a Lab-Shepherd-Akita mix named Sammy.
Natalie has career experience with pet salons, pet boutiques, and pet stores. In her free time she likes walking her dog, enjoying nature and sunsets, and spending time with her parents’ Russian Blue, Ragdoll Seal-Point, and a fiery-tempered female black domestic short-hair. Her favorite part of vacation is walking her dog on the beach. Natalie is also a natural-born artist and considers herself a very creative person. Natalie and her fiancé reside in Howard county, as long-time residents, and both come from a very close-knit family. They are planning to add a rescued cat to their little furry family sometime soon.
Andrew was born and raised right here in Montgomery County, Maryland and has had a passion for animals for as long as he can remember. He currently lives with his parents and siblings in Gaithersburg with his cat, Malik and two rabbits. He is currently studying Communication Studies at Montgomery College and will be transferring to University of Maryland later this year to complete his Bachelor's. Andrew's passions include taking care of animals, cooking and hiking. He has big ambitions and has already fulfilled one of his dreams by adopting two wonderful rabbits, Mr. Bun Bun and Ziza (pictured). He looks forward to meeting and taking care of your pets!
Jimmy has been working with dogs/cats for the last 7 years and has worked from large breeds all the way down to the smallest. He brings positivity, love for animals and a passion to be the best pet sitter you could ask for. Jimmy believes it’s important for a dogs mind to be stimulated when exercising. He will gives a variety of commands to your dog and reward them with love and positive reinforcement afterwards to try to further a bond with them. Jimmy has grown up with and been around animals all his life. He also has a passion for the animal care field and looks forward to meeting your furry family member. No matter how big, or small; He’ll take great care of them.Jimmy has been working with dogs/cats for the last 7 years and has worked from large breeds all the way down to the smallest. He brings positivity, love for animals and a passion to be the best pet sitter you could ask for. Jimmy believes it’s important for a dogs mind to be stimulated when exercising. He will gives a variety of commands to your dog and reward them with love and positive reinforcement afterwards to try to further a bond with them. Jimmy has grown up with and been around animals all his life. He also has a passion for the animal care field and looks forward to meeting your furry family member. No matter how big, or small; He’ll take great care of them.
Melissa has loved animals all her life! She loves all the furry friends, birds, fish, and reptiles! She is a Towson student with a focus in English and creative writing. She enjoys crochet, drawing, needle art, and is earning her green thumb. Melissa lives with her black rescue cat named "Wyborne," an elderly tuxedo cat named "Boogaloo," and a beagle-mix named "Kiko." She also has experience with animals with chronic health conditions who may need medication or have special needs. Melissa has a passion for making sure all animals feel loved and safe, and that all their needs are met. She is excited to meet your special companions and give them all kinds of love and attention!
Brady grew up in Gaithersburg, MD. He started dog walking/pet sitting when he was in middle school. Brady studied Environmental Science in college and loves all things about animals! Brady has a passion for caring for all animals and making sure they are loved. He looks forward to meeting and taking care of your pets!