Happy Pups. Happy People. Happy Planet.

About Uptown Pup

Uptown Pup Owners Mandy Stetzel and Kathleen Schonsheck


Welcome to Uptown Pup! We use the latest and best in canine science to create the happiest, healthiest environment for dogs in Indianapolis. Our Dog Boarding Resort & Dog Grooming Salon use proven Adaptil Dog Appeasing Pheromones (DAP) to promote calm and reduce stress. In addition, Resort guests enjoy Through a Dog’s Ear music and Thunderease scent therapy. And our Dog Daycare & Canine Fitness areas offer doggie games, enriching activities, and loving humans. Lastly, our Dog Training Team is Karen Pryor Academy certified and adhere to proven positive-reinforcement methods, creating smart, confident, and happy pups.

Our strongest asset, however, is our staff. The Uptown Pup team has extensive animal care experience and a passion for dogs. In addition, our owners and management team are Fear Free certified and Pet Tech Canine CPR & First Aid-certified, and our entire staff is trained through the renowned Dog Gurus system.  

The Uptown Pup Team

Owners

Amanda

Mandy Stetzel, Owner
Mandy has loved dogs for as long as she could talk. (One of her first words was “dog” — you can ask her parents.) After a lifetime of owning dogs, she began studying them and working in the animal welfare field. Knowing dogs bring so much joy to our species, she and Kathleen created Uptown Pup to offer them as much joy as possible in return. Mandy is Canine CPR & First-Aid certified, Fear-Free Boarding certified, and the proud owner of four rescue dogs (and a rescue kitten who grew up at Uptown).

Kathleen

Kathleen Schonsheck, Owner
Kathleen is a lifelong dog lover with 10+ years working in the daycare, grooming, and shelter worlds, as well as a background in human rehabilitation and personal training. She and Mandy founded Uptown Pup with a mission to create a wonderful place for people to work with dogs and their owners. After becoming a Certified Canine Fitness Trainer in 2018, she now enjoys helping dogs live longer, healthier lives.

Managers

Jimmy Maxwell, Manager 
Jimmy began his life as a dog trainer in 2010, when he and his lab Lambeau became a search-and-rescue team. He quickly learned the power of positive training, and used those skills in search-and-rescue & service-dog training throughout the country. With 9 years experience working with youth, Jimmy has a heart for dogs and people. He unites those passions by helping humans and dogs communicate and learn from each other. Jimmy is a graduate of the Karen Pryor Academy, a charter member of Hoosier State Search and Rescue, and leads our dog training program as Training Manager. He lives in Speedway with his wife Kelli and their pups Kodi and Copper.

Katie Genier, Manager
Katie, a graduate of the Karen Pryor Academy, has an incredible gift for understanding canine psychology, She improves the lives of every dog she trains, and has a keen interest in helping condition dogs to the types of handling required for grooming, vet visits, and other important components of dogs’ lives. She is Fear-Free certified, and her knack for positive-reinforcement extends to humans as well, so our staff knows her as the human equivalent of a ray of sunshine. She’s the proud owner of dogs Havoc and Gypsy, and her goal is to empty animal shelters everywhere.

Brooke Huntzinger, Assistant Training Manager
Brooke started working with dogs in 2016, when she found her passion for positive-reinforcement training. She brings her talent for training to our Day School and Boarding School, where she runs the programs and has expertly taught everything from puppy skills to the challenging behavioral issues. Her goal is to continue perfecting her training skills to create a better life for all dogs, and ideally train and work with service animals. She’s the proud mom of Rottweiler mix Koda and Husky mix Shoo, but also dreams of owning a corgi because of their big personalities and legendary rear-ends.

Ben Hamilton, Resort Lead
Ben came to us from The Humane Society of Indianapolis, where he was an Animal Care Technician. He is highly skilled in understanding dogs’ health, behavioral, and social needs, as well as maintaining happy, content pups with his calming presence. Our Resort is the best of its kind thanks to Ben, who works tirelessly to keep the environment as stress-free, enriching, organized, and fun for the dogs in our care. And our dogs love Ben as much as he loves them — you’ll usually find a long line of dogs following him around, especially Bassets, whenever he’s working.

Alyssa Franklin, Grooming Lead
Alyssa is a natural with all animals and has spent her life caring for dogs, cats, hamsters, ducks, turkeys, and more. Her heart for animals and exceptional work ethic makes her critical to every part of our building. She began as a Team Lead in our Daycare and Resort areas, and her favorite part about our profession has been learning to understand dogs’ language and make them comfortable. These skills have helped her transition to full-time Groomer, where she trained in the Salon @ Uptown and is now employing her skills to create a positive, calming groom experience for dogs. Alyssa is the proud owner of rescue pup Karev (aka Kurd or Karot), 3 kitties, and a spider Fiona. 

Team

Bree Reeves, Front Desk, Event Coordinator, Daycare, Resort
Bree has a B.S. in Exercise Science from U. of Indy and is currently working toward her Masters in Special Education. She came to us with experience working with children in ABA Therapy and as a nanny. Her brother worked at another dog daycare facility, and she realized she would love it in this field. We are lucky to have her on our team, where she works in Daycare, Resort, Front Desk and as our Event Coordinator. She says working with dogs is similar to working with children with autism, and she loves applying her knowledge and experience to caring for our dogs. Bree is Fear Free certified in Daycare and Boarding, owns her own pet-sitting business, SitBarkSleep, and is working on adding dog training to her list of skills and business services. She’s also the proud mom of Bruno, a cinnamon boxer/pitbull/chow mix, Whiskey, a black and brown tortoiseshell cat, and her sister Tequila, a blue-cream tortoiseshell.

Meg Owens, Enrichment, Tummy Rub Club, Resort, Daycare
Meg was one of the original motivators behind launching Uptown Pup, and we wouldn’t be here today without her. She works with our Enrichment, Resort, Little Dog Daycare, and Tummy Rub Club guests, giving them lots of love, attention, and belly rubs as possible. Her long history with dogs began as a toddler, when she helped care for her first family dog. From there, she adopted her dogs Wynnie, Mokey, and now Rolo the Yorkie mix. 

Marissa Hulvey, Resort, Front Desk, expert picture taker
As the owner of Furtography, Marissa is a huge asset to Uptown. Her career as a photographer sparked 15 years ago, when she began submitting photographs for 4H competitions. She absolutely loves animals, and it shows in her camera work. Marissa has a true talent for creating tangible memories, especially with dogs. In addition to running her pet-friendly studio, Marissa is a treasured member of our resort and front desk teams. She’s also the proud mom of Samson the lab and Kingston and Olive the chihuahuas.

Dustin Estep, Daycare & Training
Dustin came to us with experience as a retired Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army, and had worked at another daycare prior to Uptown. He wanted to surround himself with positive-reinforcement based trainers and professionals, so we luckily snatched him up, and he has been invaluable to our Daycare, Resort and Training programs. He’s currently attending CATCH Canine Academy to become a professional dog trainer, and is working toward his Fear-Free certification. His love for dogs shows in everything he does, and he especially enjoys watching their gears turn when learning new tasks and solving problems. He’s the proud owner Ollie the chocolate Lab and Penny the German Shepherd mix, who serves with Duston in the Hoosier State Search and Rescue term performing human remains detection.

Josiah Cox, Daycare & Resort
Josiah started in the veterinary assistant field, and we happily recruited him to be part of our team. His calming presence and demeanor help in even the toughest situations, and his skill-set and experience make him among the best at what he does! He loves working with dogs because they are unconditionally loving, and finds it especially rewarding to work with the shy and reserved pups. He knows under that anxious shell, there are lots and lots of tail wags and love just waiting to emerge. As dad to the biggest baby (in the form of a pittie mix), and a drooling cat who thinks he’s a dog, Josiah is a gift to every pup and works hard to make every dog happy!

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