Lisa is a wife and mother of two talented young ladies and two lovable pups, a German Shepherd and a Lab mix. She started out with S'wooft as a dog walker and within her first year was promoted to Office Manager due to her keen attention to detail, natural customer service, and unwavering care for all our fur clients. She is a licensed and practicing massage therapist, and originally came to S'wooft when she needed to reduce her client load following a significant wrist injury. She's a health and wellness nut and a true Jackie of all trades, adding value and improving the landscape in everything she does!

Michael worked with a dog walking company for about 3.5 years (further downtown) and really enjoyed his full walking route each day, as well as assisting with training of new staff members, both for handling skills and tech orientation. He was frustrated with the constant turnover of ownership/management, so when they also transitioned to more of a tech than a service company, he left to look for a more stable “home” in the dog walking world. He’s an all-season bicyclist and the first of our S’wooft bike squad!

Natalie is from Oak Park and is a lifelong pet owner and lover, currently with a Frenchie named Indigo and a kitty cat sibling. She has been working in web development/design primarily for start-up design firms in the city, and recently branched out into freelance work (check out her website). Her freelance keeps her busy in the evenings/weekends, and she was looking for something that would compliment that work, that would also allow her to get outside and spend time with animals. Her references spoke both to her charismatic personality, approachability, and her love for pets, so we've been glad to have her on the team!

Kristine recently completed her bachelor degree in Animal Science from Illinois State University and already had years of professional pet care experience when she joined Team S'wooft. She currently works one day a week with the Shedd Aquarium, assisting in everything from transitioning aquatic animals between habitat exhibits to planning and preparing their meals. She’s a dog owner and lover and would ultimately like to work full-time with dogs (especially focused on training, such as working with “sniffing” K9s utilized for security functions).

Melissa is a Westwood College graduate following her passion for life Insurance and pups. When she’s not here at S’wooft, she is working her on her Primerica business and dog sitting for long time clients. Melissa came to us as a result of her desire to become Pet First Aid/CPR certified, and stumbling upon the opportunity with S'wooft. She loves hanging out with our fur clients. When she is not walking dogs, she is educating families on how to save and get out of debt. She is a licensed Life representative and prides herself on honesty and integrity.

Chris is a Columbia College grad with a degree in Audio Arts & Acoustics - Audio Design & Production. He has done production and studio management work in a variety of settings. He was most recently managing a family-owned internet radio station. His references from there were fantastic and the staff was sad to lose him as a result of changes made to the business. He was searching for a more outdoorsy and active role, and was very happy to find us! He’s an all-weather bicyclist with experience working with a range of animals, from his own cats (past/current) and dogs (past), as well as volunteer work with chickens, turkeys, sheep, and cows.

Suzy likes to call herself a professional Man’s Best Friend’s Best Friend. She’s walked dogs of all breeds, ages, and sizes all over the Chicagoland area and has loved every last one of them. She worked for over 5 years at two of Chicago's largest and best known dog walking companies and brought her vast experience and insight to Team S'wooft after moving to the far northwest side. She has two adorable cats, Sam and Max, ages 1. When she’s not cavorting with canines, you can catch Suzy playing in bands, writing stories, and, more recently, wrestling under the (very apt) ring name Suzy the Wrestler.

Diana is a stay at home mom of her daughter and two cats, a 2yr old Scottish fold and a 5yr old Domestic short hair (Toffee and Mickey). Growing up on a farm, she was always spending time with and taking care of the cattle and other animals, and learned of the power of animals to bring a family closer together. Diana is also incredibly active outside of her walking and cat mama responsibilities, including Crossfit and running with her S'wooft buddies when they're up for it! She's lived in the area for several years and joined our team when her human child (Chrystyna) started school full-time and she was looking for an active/outdoor job with flexibility to allow for after school pick ups.

Kelly is a native Floridian who loves to scuba dive, travel, and watch baseball. She comes from a family of pet lovers and grew up with a rotating menagerie of dogs, cats, gerbils, rabbits, birds and even a chinchilla. She's a pet parent to Pickle, an energetic Beagle/basset/blue heeler mix. Kelly is a professional mascot performer and spent 12 years in the MLB (Rays, Red Sox, Blue Jays) and the NHL (Tampa Bay Lightning). When she's not walking dogs she's performing for The Chicago Dogs baseball team in Rosemont. Come check out a game! www.thechicagodogs.com

Paige is a Loyola University graduate with a passion for ceramics and pets. While she’s following her major/degree focus of ceramics by building her ceramics studio and business, she also wanted something more active and structured during the day. She saw walking with S’wooft as the perfect fit for both her love of fur babies and her logistical needs, and we’re glad to benefit from her professional experience in pet care. In addition to being a lifelong pet owner (currently with a German Shepard mix and a Pomeranian), Paige worked at a nearby animal hospital for a couple years and has been doing in home pet sitting since about 2006.

Luther is a marketing and PR student at Depaul University. He recently moved to the area, which required him to find a job closer to home than where he had been for over 2 years, at a retail garden store. In that role, he was doing everything from managing the yard and delegating responsibilities among staff members, to assisting with on-site deliveries and landscape planting design. Prior to the garden center, he was a camp counselor and writer/blogger. He has always been a pet owner and lover, with his family and personal pets ranging from German Shepards and AmStaff terriers to an Aussie/collie mix.

Stacy holds a degree in healthcare administration and while that’s her primary career interest, she’s been keeping busy working as a logistics team member for a major retailer. She’s also been a nanny (and pet care provider for those families) and was thrilled to learn of the opportunity with S’wooft. Her references consistently spoke to her work ethic ("shows up early, stays late, ‘get things done’ kinda girl”), her personality (everyone thinks and speaks highly of her), and her care for pets, kids, and customers alike. Stacy is also the proud mama of a (human) teenage son and a Yorkie/Shi Tzu.

Alex is a DePaul graduate and now working on his masters degree in Network Engineering & Security. His classes are in the evenings and he was looking for a part-time job that would be active and fulfilling to help with the costs of his program. Being able to spend his days with fur babies was a total plus, and he’s been a great asset to the team!

Kristine (“Kris”) has been working in high end retail for over 15 years and was looking for a change, specifically dog walking. She was seeking a fulfilling part-time role and up for the physical challenge of walking dogs of all sizes and temperaments. Her previous managers had great things to say about her reliability and punctuality, professionalism and customer service, and their ability to trust her with anything. They said she’s always been a leader among her peers and we were lucky to have her. She has always had dogs (several larger breeds) and lives right in our area!

Justin came to us primarily from a professional background in executive security, providing personal detail for various venues and private companies for business executives and general events. He was looking for something more active and more of a daytime schedule since he is planning to take evening/weekend/online classes. He’s a dog lover (his references confirmed it!) and brings a positive and professional attitude. He is also among the ranks of our bike squad, traveling on bike through his dog walking route.

Nicole has a bachelor's degree in Women's Studies from the University of Northern Iowa where she played all 4 years of soccer. She is currently going back to school to complete her Paralegal Studies Certification. She has 2 dogs whom she adores; a Yorkie named Gizmo and a Morkie named Rocco. Nicole has always loved dogs and when she 's not walking a fur friend, she is busy working as an Intake Coordinator/Project Manager for Adoption Choices, where she helps Adoptive Families and Birth Mothers in creating adoption plans, shepherding them through the adoption process. Outside of work, she enjoys traveling , attending concerts, cheering on her Chicago Bears, rehabbing recycled furniture and goods, and spending time with her loved ones.

Ben is a Chicago native from the Lincoln Park neighborhood. After graduating from Purdue with a degree in Communications, he returned to the city to explore positions in Copywriting and Account Management. A desire for more physically active and emotionally rewarding work brought him to S’wooft, where his love of dogs and walking experience made their tails wag! Ben enjoys biking year round, and wishes the streets were wider so he could install a sidecar and put dogs in it.

Karla was born and raised in rural Arizona loving on bunnies and dogs that her family raised. She spent most of her childhood summers on her uncle's dairy farm, helping with daily chores and loving on the barn kitties and all the cows! She attended college in Indiana and moved to Chicago right after graduation. She's been living in Chicago for 8 years, and recently started an allergy friendly bakery focusing on gluten free and vegan baked and savory goods. She does pop ups all around the city and is currently opening a storefront! instagram: @belightfulbakery ​https://www.facebook.com/crueltyfreebakery

Eric is a professional opera singer (check out his website) with a masters in Vocal Performance. He was looking for something part-time that could fit around his work schedule, and he really enjoyed when he did dog walking before. Prior to his two recent opera residencies, Eric worked in cyber security sales. According to his references, he’s basically a rockstar, both professionally and personally. Eric is a lifelong dog lover and owner, and we’re glad to have him loving on the fur babies we serve.

Khrystyna was born in Ukraine and speaks three different languages fluently; English, Ukrainian, and Russian. She grew up with in a family that loved big breeds like German Shepherds, Rottweilers and Saint Bernards. She is a registered nurse and has studied in Antigua, recently finished medical school and rotations here in Chicago, and is currently applying for residencies to specialize in family medicine. In the meantime her love for animals has driven her to find work taking care of them, along with her own kitty Simon.