Meet the Diamond Family

Kirsten

Kirsten moved from New Hampshire back to Canada to go to the university of Western for Zoology.  She started working at Diamond in 2012 after working as a Zookeeper for six years.  She has the unique skills for working with Zoo, Pet exotics and Farm animals which is  why she is the manager of our Cat Corner, all of the Off Site Services and Other Critter boarding, that we do here at Diamond!  Her knowledge, attention to detail and desire to make every aspect of a reservation smooth and enjoyable for each pet; make her an essential member of team.

Kirsten owns a shepherd cross named Jethro, a three-legged cat named Marble (featured on our cat page!), and a two-legged son born in 2021. 🙂

Candace has been a valued member of Diamond since June 2023!  Candace has years of experience in both management and the dog industry. She began her animal career with her own dog walking company, specializing in the dogs most other walkers would turn away (these are often her favourite furry friends!). From there, Candace expanded her career into basic training skills as she gained experience in the boarding world and moving her way into Supervisor and Office Administration positions. Her attention to detail in the office administration ensures details of your pets vacation are followed to at tee.  Candace’s favourite part of being part of the Diamond family is the wide variety of work she does on any given day! Candace spends her home time with a Border Collie named Twyla (a lover of all things cheese!) and a Golden Retriever named Izzy who will be having her first litter of puppies in March of 2024.

Owen

Owen started at Diamond in Sept 2022.  His calm, skilled demeanor doesn’t go unnoticed by his co-workers.  He is known to quietly watch and learn how to be proficient at everything he does.

Owen has always had an appreciation and connection with animals of all sizes. Throughout his life he has lived with and cared for many animals including dogs, cats and hamsters; he even domesticated the Mallards and Muscovy ducks in his backyard!

Owen obtained his bachelors in biology and gained his work experience in animal hospitals and kennels. He is working towards his pilot’s license and looks forward to flying his future Miniature Australian Shepherd on adventures.

Hailey
Hailey joined the Diamond family in March of 2023 after an animal care career that bloomed from volunteering and working in a grooming salon.

She briefly worked for a dog walking company which solidified her decision to work with dogs every day!

Hailey’s compassion and knowledge of dogs is one of her best traits and we are also fortunate to have Hailey on the social media team.

Hailey was fortunate enough to grow up with a variety of dog breeds in her home (from the smaller breeds of Chihuahuas and a Pug/Beagle mix to the larger Doberman and German Shepherd/Collie mix!).

Currently, Hailey is living with a three legged mixed breed pup named Delilah who keeps her on her toes!

Fei joined the kennel staff at Diamond in the Ruff in March of 2023.

She spent her childhood growing up with cats and became an official dog owner at the age of 15.

Fei is also an avid horsewoman and loves spending time with her own horse.

When she graduated from the Animal Care program Fei began working part time for a therapeutic riding facility for disabled children. From there, Fei made her way to the Diamond family where she ensures that dogs are having a safe and happy time!

Fei has a senior mixed breed named Cooper and a young Shepherd mix named Luna; she often enjoys taking Luna for hikes and finding different and innovative ways to tire out that Shepherd energy!

Tino

Tino was born and raised in Maramoros, Mexico where he ran his own training facility for 10 years, specialising in high drive dogs.

Tino’s ability to see what a dog needs to develop fully made him successful at training and selling dogs for their most advanced working ability. He had clients all over the USA and beyond for scent training and protection purposes for private and police work. He moved to Canada and joined the Diamond team in September of 2023, where he focuses mostly on our Canine Kinder Collegiate Training program. Tino is an expert at dog behaviour and body language and loves to use his knowledge to provide our client dog’s with the best stay possible.

Amanda B

Amanda has been a  skilled member of the groom team since 2022!

Her favourite breed to groom is poodles because of their loving personalities and fun haircuts 🐩

She loves building relationships with our regular clients and new puppy clients to make the grooming process a fun experience.

Amanda has a toy poodle cross named Chase who loves to be the test subject of various dye jobs.

Outside of grooming, Amanda loves horseback riding, going on hikes with her dogs and camping.

Stephanie

Stephanie has been an expert on our groom team since 2017.

She has a knack for remembering details about each dog.  If your dog was groomed at Diamond you can be sure she will remember some sweet detail or antidote.

She enjoys working on golden retrievers, shelties and doodles.

Her favourite cuddles are with the sweet pups we groom regularly.

Stephanie is very artistic and she loves doing creative grooms- the rare dye job or mohawk request are always very exciting.

She has two dogs; a husky mix named Sadie and a border collie named Jack.

Stephanie is also an experienced trainer and plays the dog sport agility and dock diving.

Stephanie loves to hike, camp and teach her dogs fun tricks.

Julie

Julie joined the Diamond team in December of 2023. She brings with her an eclectic animal care background!

Julie’s previous careers include veterinary technician, dog and cat groomer and she was even a ground rep for Coyote Watch Canada.

Julie is also heavily involved in volunteer and rescue work, previously volunteering with Toronto Wildlife Center and currently trapping and domesticating feral cats for adoption in addition to her domesticated and wildlife rescue work.

The skill acquired for her previous experience makes Julie one of our talented animal behaviourists who thrive when our pets need quick whits, bravery and confident gentleness.

Chantelle

Chantelle is another one of our talented team that excels here at Diamond.  Her skill in training, attention to detail and communication are fantastic addition to our team!

Chantelle spent years raising 3 beautiful daughters before launching her work career in dog training. She specialized in obedience and dog handling for many years before joining the team at Diamond in October of 2023.

In addition to her human children, Chantelle is also a proud dog mom to 5 dogs; Ozzy (Pomeranian Cross), Lily (Pomchi), Lulu (Frenchie), and Bear and Raya (Cane Corsos).

When not at work, Chantelle can often be found exploring trails and hiking with Bear and Raya or unwinding at the cottage.

Shayla

After many years working in the veterinary field, Shayla became a welcome addition to the Diamond grooming in 2022.

She is  kind and patient and excels in her efforts to make pets look and feel better!

Shayla loves working with all sorts of breeds; from fluffy doodles to sweet bulldogs.  She takes great joy in caring for our wide variety of clients.

Along with her husband and two kids, Shayla shares her home with her two dogs, a standard bully named Saint and an old English bulldog named Lux. She loves spending time outside and relaxing with her family.

Jenny

After graduating the Animal Care program, Jenny’s first foray into the animal world started with rescue work at her local Humane Society before moving into the kennel and daycare world.

She came to Diamond in the Ruff in February of 2023 with 8 years of experience Managing multiple dog daycares.

Her favourite part of working in the animal care industry is that no two days are ever the same-and, of course, all the puppy snuggles!

Outside of work, Jenny is kept busy and active with two active kids born in 2018 and 2022 and Golden Retriever X named Rubble.

Kelly comes to Diamond with a Bachelor of Science (Animal Biology) with a focus in behaviour and welfare.

Her years of working in veterinary clinics as lead technician gave her experience in organisation, triage and rapport building tools, which translate well to working here at Diamond.

She’s had experience working with companion animals as well as farm and exotic animals! Kelly has cared for animals her whole life and is always entertaining coworkers with hilarious stories of animal related escapades.

Kelly’s favourite breed is the Wire Haired Griffon but her dream dog would be a fluffy couch potato she could snuggle up with while reading a good book!

Amanda P

Amanda joined Diamond in the Ruff with a wide variety of animal related work experience; including 35 years with horses and 20 years as a zookeeper!

She has a degree in biological science and has studied animal behaviour and many forms of training. Amanda has spent many years walking and fostering dogs with behavioural needs which led to her career with the Diamond family!

Amanda’s favourite animal is the Rhinoceros and she enjoys passing along many facts about them.

She has shared her home with many animals over the years and currently has a ball python named Tiamat.

Anatolii
Tolii can only be described as the worlds best maintenance guy!  His favorite part of the job is riding the tractor, doing ceramic tile work and all the thinking and strategy needed to keep a busy kennels’ moving parts beautiful and functioning perfectly.  Along with being a “jack of all trades” you can see that his love of pets is obvious!