MSPCA-Angell Headquarters

350 South Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02130
(617) 522-7400
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Angell Animal Medical Centers – Boston

350 South Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02130
(617) 522-7282
angellquestions@angell.org
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Angell West

293 Second Avenue, Waltham, MA 02451
(781) 902-8400
For on-site assistance (check-ins and pick-ups):
(339) 970-0790
angellquestions@angell.org
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Angell at Essex

565 Maple Street, Danvers, MA 01923
(978) 304-4648
essex@angell.org
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Animal Care and Adoption Centers – Boston

350 South Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02130
(617) 522-5055
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Animal Care and Adoption Centers – Cape Cod

1577 Falmouth Road, Centerville, MA 02632
(508) 775-0940
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Animal Care and Adoption Centers – Nevins Farm

400 Broadway, Methuen, MA 01844
(978) 687-7453
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Animal Care and Adoption Centers – Northeast Animal Shelter

347 Highland Ave., Salem, MA 01970
(978) 745-9888
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Waltham Dog Training Staff

Terri Bright, Ph.D., BCBA-D, CAAB, Director of Behavior Services

Dr. Terri Bright earned her Master’s of Science and Doctoral degrees at Simmons College in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) with an animal specialty, and she is a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA-D). She is also a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist through (CAAB) the Animal Behavior Society. She teaches Learning and Behavior Analysis at Northeastern University and lectures nationally on the subject of Applied Animal Behavior Analysis. She is the past President of the Applied Animal Behavior Special Interest Group in the Association of Applied Behavior Analysis International (ABAI), and her dissertation research entailed developing a dog behavior assessment and analysis tool that helps to standardize how dog trainers evaluate why problem behaviors happen. She won multiple Marian Breland Bailey awards from ABAI for her research on applied dog behavior analysis, and put many performance and conformation titles on her bull terriers. She is shown here with her MSPCA-adopted dog, Ribbon.

Dr. Bright launched the Training (now Behavior) Department at the MSPCA-Angell’s Boston location in 2007 and it has grown to include Angell West; adding in the classes at Nevins Farm, the MSPCA-Angell Behavior Department has about 100 classes a week! The Department now has three clinical behaviorists and over twenty skilled dog-training instructors.

Her multi-species behavior skills are demonstrated by her research at the MSPCA-Angell, where her volunteer-training program, Safewalk™, was shown to increase adoption rates and decrease injuries to volunteers. It was published in the Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science.

Dr. Bright is also the founding editor of a new open-source animal behavior publication, called the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis in Animal Training (www.jabaat.org).

 Susan Conway, CPDT-KA, Behavior Operations Manager

Susan joined the Behavior team at MSPCA-Angell in 2013 and has since earned the Certified Professional Dog Trainer – Knowledge Assessed (CPDT-KA) certification as well as completed a graduate certificate in Applied Behavior Analysis. Susan assists Dr. Bright in her behavior consults, coordinates training classes, and helps to keep the office running smoothly. She earned her Bachelors of Science from Boston University in 1993, where she studied mass communication and psychology. She spent almost a decade working in marketing at Dunkin’ Brands, and received a Masters degree from Emerson College in Integrated Marketing Communication. After switching gears and earning a certificate in Professional Photography at CDIA/BU in 2006, Susan spent several years working as a wedding and portrait photographer, and also began to volunteer at her local shelter photographing the dogs there who were awaiting new homes. This experience led Susan to further explore animal behavior, and she earned a certificate in Canine Behavior and Training from Mount Ida College in 2013. Susan and her husband currently share their home with a Boston Terrier and a Chihuahua mix.

 Aidan Wilkie, CPDT-KA, Training Coordinator

Aidan has been training dogs since 2016, and received her CPDT-KA in 2017. Before working with dogs and their humans, she had a career in Special Education and specialized in working with physically and cognitively disabled children and young adults with severe behavior issues. As a result, the principles of behavior were always of interest to her, and when she adopted her own anxious four-legged side-kick Zoe in 2012, she found herself applying many of the same behavior modification techniques she had used for years in education. Despite her best efforts, however, Aidan quickly realized that in order to truly help Zoe, she would need to learn more. Since that time, she has dedicated her life to learning about dog behavior and helping people better understand their pups. It was a long-term goal of hers to work in the Behavior Department at the MSPCA, where she continues to learn about how we can help our canine companions live fuller, happier and more enriching lives.

Instructors:

 Gwen Beaven, Instructor

Gwen has been a member of the National Association of Canine Scent Work and a Nosework enthusiast since 2011, when she was introduced to Nosework with her first two German Shepherds, Pi & Sylvie. Since then she’s trained and won titles with her next two German Shepherds, Frank and Gaga, and a family member’s Lab, attaining an Elite Division Level 3 title with Frank. She’s built her knowledge of scent detection by attending many classes, workshops and seminars over the past 12 years, learning from a wide variety of instructors including NACSW founder Ron Gaunt, and by observing many different breeds of dogs finding fun and success in Nosework. She has also trained her dogs in competition obedience and has been a member, board member and past president of Charles River Dog Training Club since 2007. Gwen is also a member of United Schutzhund Club of America (USCA) and trains her dog Gaga in tracking, obedience and other sports.

 Rebecca Cosloy, KPA-CTP, Instructor

Rebecca has been training and caring for dogs since 2002. Rebecca’s background and special interest lies in reactivity, fear and fear-based aggression in pet dogs. This perspective informs her approach to teaching all dogs and their humans with sensitivity and compassion. A proud Graduate with Distinction from the Dog Training Professional Program in January of 2015, she was awarded the coveted KPA CTP designation (Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner.) Rebecca is Fear Free certified, an approved AKC CGC Evaluator, and an Official Mentor Trainer for CATCH Canine Trainers Academy. She shares her home with an 8 year old rescue Papillon, Jacx, and 3 year old Icelandic Sheepdog, Tindra. Rebecca enjoys training and competing with her dogs in her free time. Jacx is her K9 Nosework competitor. Tindra is showing in conformation and is in training for competition obedience. 

 Laurie Costa, Instructor

Laurie Costa is an Animal Behavior College (ABC) Certified Professional Dog Trainer (ABC-DT). She received her Master’s Degree in Social Work from Boston College and has worked as a therapist for over 25 years, helping human clients by using numerous behavioral techniques. After many years of training her own dogs as well as friends and family dogs, she decided to return to school to combine her two loves – animals and behavior modification. Laurie has attended many dog training seminars and, like all MSPCA instructors, uses positive reinforcement techniques to train dogs. Laurie enjoys teaching a variety of classes including puppy classes, various levels of basic “manners” classes, dog sport classes and pet tricks. Laurie also works with several rescues and her local shelter to help rescue/shelter animals find homes. She is currently owned by four mixed-breed rescue dogs and enjoys spending time with them and supporting various rescue events.

 Liz Fay, CPDT-KA, Instructor

Liz’s interest in dog behavior began in 2006. Having grown up without much knowledge of the species, she decided to volunteer at a local animal shelter. Liz’s desire to understand how dogs think and how to effectively communicate with them quickly turned into a passion for sharing this information with others. In 2008 Liz began her career with dogs as the Dog Adoption Coordinator for the same shelter she had volunteered with. Liz has since earned her Certified Professional Dog Training certificate (CPDT-KA) and joined MSPCA as a Dog Training Instructor in 2020. Her passion for helping people communicate and bond with dogs continues to fuel her interest in canine behavior. As well as teaching Puppy Play & Learn, Obedience classes and private lessons for MSPCA, she is also currently the Dog Program Manager at an animal shelter in central MA.

 Amy Grossman, CPDT-KA, Instructor

Amy’s interest in dog training began in high school when she took her elderly family dog back to training classes and joined a dog 4H club. After that she never stopped taking classes with her dogs and while working in the pet care industry for many years, she found dog training was her true calling. Amy enjoys dog sports in her spare time and currently trials in Flyball and Scentwork. She has also participated in Barn Hunt, Lure Coursing, Agility, Rally and Therapy dog work. Amy is a certified professional dog trainer and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business. She shares her home with her husband, two daughters and her Shetland Sheepdogs, Odo & Arex

 Lisa McEvoy, KPA-CTP, Instructor

What started a simple decision to enroll in a basic manners class with a newly adopted dog in 2007, quickly led to an interest in dog behavior for Lisa and a desire to learn more. She graduated from Karen Pryor Academy for Dog Training and Behavior in 2012, and has served as a trainer for a service dog organization, taught classes and offered in-home training/behavior sessions. She began teaching agility in Waltham in 2021 and competes in the sport with her dogs, Blue and Demitasse. She is a supporting member of the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants and has a BA in Psychology from the University of Vermont.

Elizabeth Park, CPDT-KA, Instructor

Elizabeth (Liz) Park currently teaches Puppy Play n’ Learn and Obedience classes while also assisting with behavior consultations. Liz earned her bachelor’s degree in English and Psychology from Wellesley College and her master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling from Boston College. Liz spent several years working with children with social and behavioral challengesduring which she began exploring options for pet therapy while working with children. She gradually switched gears into the dog training world and is a certified graduate of the Victoria Stilwell Academy. Liz is also a Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA) and a member of the Association of Professional Dog Trainers.

 Janice Ritter, Instructor

Jan co-founded German Shepherd Rescue of New England (GSRNE), and directed the GSRNE Foster Family program for over a decade. She enjoys working with rescue dogs and their new owners, as well as with dogs purchased from breeders or from other sources; in other words, she enjoys working with dogs of any breed/mix, shape, and size, from large to small. Janice has titled her own dogs in competition obedience, Rally obedience, K9 Nosework (scent detection), AKC Trick Dog and in the sport of IPG (Schutzhund). She has dabbled in French Ring sports as well. She and her German Shepherd Dogs earned top honors at every titling level of every sport they worked in, and reached national levels of competition in AKC Obedience, Rally and Schutzhund. She and her Belgian Malinois are cleaning up in Competition Obedience, Rally, and Nosework! Janice’s Nosework students are trialing in NACSW, PSD, AKC and USCSS venues around New England and in Florida. These students have learned the art of training and reading a detection dog in Janice’s classes.