Linda Wagoner – Front Desk part-time. Linda joined the Camp Canine family in 2003 on a part-time basis. After receiving her graduate degree in education she served our local public school system as both a teacher and school administrator until retirement. Tucker, her beloved Golden Retriever, enjoyed all the benefits of Day Camp and came weekly to play. After retiring from the school system, Linda wanted something different and fun to do with her days and thought how great it would be to join the Camp family. She works three days week assisting the front desk and oversees our Day Care financials.

Linda enjoys interacting with the Camper’s parents and loves bringing her kids to Day Camp when she is working. She recently lost her beloved Golden Retriever, Tucker. Linda currently has two kids, Sunny and Milo. Both are Golden Retrievers and rescues that needed a home and found Linda. She loves to travel on her days off and can often be found at the beach or mountains with her 4-legged kids or working in the yard.

Melissa Katafiasz – Bookkeeper. Melissa has a long resume in serving homeless animals which makes her a perfect fit for Camp Canine. Although Melissa is not as lucky as the rest of us who get to interact directly with the Campers, she plays the important role of getting the bills paid. It was important to find someone who had the same passion about animals as the rest of us. Melissa joined Camp in 2006 on a part time basis as our Bookkeeper and are lucky to have her with our camp family.

Melissa is a Charlotte native who moved to Raleigh to attend NCSU and never left. After receiving a B.S. in Business Management she put her education to work with a local attorney. In addition to her full time job and her work with us, she also finds time to volunteer many hours each week with Second Chance Pet Adoptions. She got involved with Second Chance when she found her first litter of homeless puppies. After successfully fostering, with only keeping two, and finding the others permanent loving homes, she was hooked. Since 2001, she has volunteered her time as Dog Coordinator for 6 years and as a Board Member for 7 years with one year being Vice-President. As the Dog Coordinator she was responsible for all aspects from foster homes, intakes, adoptions, all medical decisions, and managed coordinators to help in several areas.

Melissa has a wonderful husband Dan who loves the animals equally as much and brought one of their 4 dogs to the family. They share their home with 4 4-legged babies and until recently always had at least 1 foster at all times in addition to theirs. We all wonder how she continues to do so much since the addition of their son Dylan in 2006, but she has not slowed down just stops to chase him from time to time.

Holly Hagino - Camp Counselor and Front Desk. Holly is one of Camp Canine's old timers. She joined the Camp family in 2001 right after our move to our new location on a part time basis and is still here today. We wish she would give up her corporate job and join us full time but she enjoys a good mix of both so we will take her when we can. Holly received a B.S. in Fashion Merchandising and found her way into the computer world working for companies such as Merisel and Levovo/IBM.

She was passionate about canines and wanted to find something to fulfill her passion on a part time basis. Holly is trained in all areas of Camp from working in play group with the campers to the front desk assisting camper's parents. She is a wealth of knowledge on the foods and supplements we carry and enjoys talking with customers and helping them make the right decision for their babies. Holly primarily works on weekends but is at Camp almost every day shuttling her kids to and from Day Camp. Holly is a certified instructor in Animal Emergency First Aid & CPR and Co-founder of TECA. She enjoys helping people that are as in love with their doggie children as she is, so Camp is a perfect fit. She also enjoys seminars and courses that expand her knowledge in the canine world. Holly volunteered her time in New Orleans assisting in managing a triage unit during the Hurricane Katrina disaster.

Holly enjoys spending time with KiKo her 11 year old mix and most recent addition Jimmy Dean, 2 year old Dachshund, and three birds whose mission is to drive Jimmy Dean crazy, Penelope 21, Huey 12, Pikachu 8 years old. Holly has fostered numerous dogs over the years for Camp rescues awaiting their forever homes.

Susannah English – Camp Counselor. Susannah, a Cary Native, grew up in a household of animals. Her current babies have been customers of Camp since 2005! Upon joining Camp she adopted another rescue, Luke, adding a third Camper to her pack! Susannah only joins us part time as she is also a student at Meredith College in Raleigh. She spends all her available time with us at Camp! Her strong assets are with the dogs as they love having Susannah in group as both a leader and playmate. She is the first to suit up in a wet suit to take them swimming in the big pool and loves teaching new kids just how to swim and how the others do it. She never resists the opportunity to teach a newbie how to interact with others and fit in with the group and they LOVE her for that.

Susannah has completed several levels of training at Camp allowing her to work a multitude of different shifts at camp broadening her knowledge. The highlight of her day is seeing the “regulars” and getting a chance to pick up where they last left off whether it was group play or special one on one time they shared!

Mona – Camp Counselor. Mona has loved animals her entire life. She has always helped strays and injured wildlife, and has parented a myriad of animals, including dogs, cats, horses, guinea pigs, rabbits – even a rescued lab rat!

Mona holds 3 college degrees, and has worked in the corporate world, health field, and education, but always felt that something was missing. She decided that she needed to follow her true passion for those with 4 legs, and has not looked back.

Prior to joining Camp, she spent a week as a volunteer at Best Friends Animal Society in Utah, working in Dogtown. This memorable experience assured her that she was making the right choice in changing career paths. "Wagging tails and slobbery kisses are the best paycheck in the world!" Mona appreciates that each day at Camp is different, and a new opportunity for learning. She lives in Clayton with her husband, human son, and 3 canine kids: rescued Australian Shepherds Steve and Abbie, and latest edition Velvet, a sweet mix adopted right here at Camp Canine!