Joy joined WAGD as a pet trainer in 2026. She has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in clinical psychology. Before graduating with her master’s she realized that animal training would be a better career/personality fit than counseling.
She has always been an avid animal lover and became a vegetarian at 12-years of age. Even in high school and college when she didn’t know her life would lead her to a career with animals, she volunteered at Roger’s Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, worked a summer job at a veterinary clinic and another summer job in college with the education department at the Abilene Zoo. She attended her first animal training convention with the American Zoological Association in 2010. From there she trained to be a dog trainer at PetSmart, where she continued for about 16 years.
Joy loves helping dogs be the best family members that they can be, and helping families understand and care for their dogs.