Our Team

Who are we and what do people think about us?

• We are a veterinary behavior and pet training organization, and have dedicated ourselves to providing the highest quality of care for improving your pet’s behavior. We live and breathe animal behavior 24/ 7 /365. It is this passion for being the best at what we offer that shapes our business.
• If you would like to know more about the behavioral and training backgrounds of our staff members, please read about us in the sections below
• If you are interested in finding out more about what people are saying about us, please visit our testimonials page to see some of the feedback we have received from our clients
• Ready to get some help? Please contact us and tell us about the challenges you are facing and to find out how we can help.

---

Valli Parthasarathy, PhD, DVM

Dr. Valli’s love for animals started at a very young age.  Some of her fondest memories from childhood revolve around the dogs she grew up with, the deer and snakes in her family’s wooded yard in upstate New York, and riding horses.  As she grew older, she noticed that while she loved animals, she was most fascinated with their behavior.

Through high school, college (Cornell University) and graduate school (a Masters at University of California, Davis, and a PhD from The University of Georgia) Dr. Valli was involved with animal behavior research ranging from socialization of kittens to the interactions of hormones and behavior in male sheep.  Her PhD dissertation research focused on Separation Anxiety in dogs, a very common behavior problem. As a graduate student, Valli focused her education on learning the details of companion animal behavior, including dogs, cats, horses, and pet birds.

While finishing her graduate work, Dr. Valli decided to pursue a veterinary degree because to do so would allow her to help even more animals.  While she was working on her vet studies, she also co-founded and ran the first reward-based dog training and behavior center in Athens, GA.  She found that she thrived on helping people find solutions to behavior problems with their dogs, and seeing them glow with pride at their dog.

Dr. Valli graduated from the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine (2006) and has been practicing general medicine in the Portland and Vancouver areas.  This year, she decided to dedicate herself to her love of behavior and medicine and created this behavior-only veterinary practice.

She is currently on the executive board for the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (AVSAB). She is the President Elect for AVSAB and will the Acting President starting in August, 2012.  She was a presenter at the 2011 APDT Conference. She enjoys training with her own dogs and competing in dog agility.

Dr. Valli is available to help you help your pet behave better. Please contact us and and let us know about the training challenges you are facing.

---

Scott Raymond, MS, CPDT-KA

Scott has been helping dogs and their families with training classes and private consults for over twelve years.  He has attended numerous seminars and conferences on dog behavior and training issues and achieved the status of Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA) in 2004.  He has titled dogs in tracking and competition obedience and is a Canine Good Citizen evaluator.

Scott and Sita (photo at right) are also a registered therapy dog team, and have been participating in the Dove Lewis (now Delta Society) Read to the Dogs program for over two years, helping children become more confident readers. Together with his four fur-kids (Sita, Roo, Misha and Jazz) Scott helps people find solutions to dog training challenges.

Scott has also worked as the Head Instructor for Project Pooch in Woodburn, Oregon. Through this program, he helped correctional facility youths train shelter dogs to improve adaptability.

You can find out more about Scott by reading his Professional Bio.

Scott will be excited to help you find ways to improve your pet’s behavior. Please feel free to contact us for more information and to set up training.

---

Amber Mahoney

Amber’s formal dog training education began in 2004 by assisting with a small group that taught people with various disabilities how to train their own dogs as service animals. She went on to join the Synergy team in 2008 where she currently teaches Puppy Preschool and Family Dog 1 classes, as well as assists with Reactive Rover classes. Amber is also a Canine Good Citizen Evaluator, and is working toward becoming a Certified Professional Dog Trainer.

In her free time, Amber also enjoys training her own dogs. She currently shares her home with two German Shepherds, Chloe and Ferrous. Chloe is a retired therapy and service dog, and both dogs are currently training in the sport of K9 Nose Work.

---

Caroline Shriver

Caroline has worked in the education field with adults and children since 2003 as a teacher for elementary school children and personal coach for college students. She has had a life-long love of animals, especially dogs, and became inspired to apply her skills as an educator to the dog training field.

As she began volunteering with shelter dogs and when she adopted her own dog, Halpert, she discovered that many dogs need help to work through their sensitivities around strangers. She is always thrilled to facilitate people’s communication with their dogs, which she believes leads to happier dogs and people!

---

Our Furry Helpers

Our own dogs help greatly with in classes and private consultations.  They demonstrate exercises in class, act as distractions for other dogs, and provide inspiration to endless pet people.  Not only do they play vital roles in our business, they have been our teachers as well.

Sita	Roo	Misha	Jazz
Sita, our 14 year-old German shepherd mix, whose love for people allowed her to become a certified Therapy Dog, passed away in March of 2012.  As a puppy, she was constantly mouthing, jumping up, pulling on leash and generally being a pest, and she taught us the importance of reinforcing calm behaviors at a very early age.  She was always there to deliver snuggles and face licks to anyone who wanted them.	Roo is an Australian cattle dog cross (we think!).  At 13 years old, he loves to play fetch and tug, as well as do agility and competitive obedience.  Roo enjoys demonstrating training exercises for class students, and is very willing to be a distraction dog for dog-reactive pets.	Misha is a 11 year-old mix that showed up in front of the house as a 6 week-old puppy.  She is a sweet,shy dog, and helped reinforce the importance of tailoring training to the individual dog. She is good at interacting with other dogs, and often will help with dogs whose social skills need improvement.	Jazz is a 6 year-old German shepherd husky mix.  He is a lively dog, who alternates between making us laugh and making us want to pull our hair out.  He’s been through Tracking Dog training and has also learned a few tricks including Spin. He’s in training to become an aide in our consultations and classes.