Meet Our Staff

Assistant Operation Manager

Bonnie Crawford

Bonnie is a student at Cuesta College majoring in business. She is originally from Oak Hills, California and her family has owned dogs for the majority of her life. She has always loved dogs and being around them. In her free time, Bonnie enjoys being outdoors. She's glad she can be a part of the THPR family and loves spending time with the dogs and getting to know them and their personalities. She wants to be able to adopt a fur baby of her own one day!

Dog Trainer

Amber Nieslanik

Amber grew up around all kinds of animals, and has always been a huge animal lover. She is certified in exotic animal training and is currently finishing a degree in Animal Behavior. She started at Gentle Touch as an assistant in 2021 and eventually joined the New Life K9's team at the start of 2022. She has grown a huge love for training, and even been able to work with horses and several different marine mammals. 

Lead Resort Host

Melanie Mora

Melanie is a student at Cal poly SLO majoring in Animal Science. She is originally from Los Angeles and loves all kinds of animals which inspired her to work towards becoming a veterinarian. Melanie loves working at THPR because of all the fun dogs and awesome coworkers.

Lead Resort Host

Marina Collins

Marina grew up with dogs in the bay area and moved to SLO for the great weather and outdoor activities. She loves kayaking, hiking, and going to the dog beach with her dog, Bumi. She is a certified elementary school teacher and enjoys observing the intelligence of all the dogs. Caring for them warms her heart.

Lead Resort Host

Lauren Stewart

Lauren just moved to San Luis Obispo and wants to work with and train service dogs. She is pursuing her Animal Science and Psychology degree and is learning so much while working here at Thousand Hills!

Lead Resort Host

Lauren Casey

Lauren is studying Arts & Humanities at Cuesta College and will be working towards a Veterinary Technician Certificate at Allan Hancock College. She loves spending time with her kitty, Luna, and her senior doggy, Lucy! Her favorite activities are being in nature, gymnastics, and hanging out with her fiancé and family. Lauren loves working at THPR because she gets to see smiling dogs every day!

Receptionist 

Kendal Martin

Kendal is from Lompoc, Ca. She enjoys working at THPR because of the client interactions, and seeing how excited people get when discussing their animals. She is currently raising her guide dog puppy in training “Tonga”. Tonga can be found hanging out under the office desk where she frequently naps or keeps Kendal company. In her free time she enjoys hanging out with family, reading a good book, or hiking. She is currently finishing up her undergrad at Cal Poly for an agricultural science degree.

Dog Bather

Sophia Lorenzo

Sophia is known as Sophie by her friends and she has two dogs and a bird. She used to have two rats and would have an "aviary of rats" if she could. She also likes to draw, play the piano, and also crochet -- let her know if you need a potholder! 

Lead Resort Host

Carlos Orosco

Carlos enjoys being around all the different types of dogs at Thousand Hills. He also enjoys having fun with all his coworkers!

Madison Schwenoha

Resort Host

Madison grew up absolutely loving animals and couldn’t turn down the opportunity to work at Thousand Hills Pet Resort. She loves being part of every dog‘s journey to becoming the wonderful characters they are and she considers the amazing people she works with family. When she's not working, she enjoys spending time with her family and her pets.

Matt Fletcher

Resort Host

Matt enjoys making music, playing video games & playing with dogs. He is a physics major and is also learning dog training at our Gentle Touch Pet Training program. He loves animals and working at Thousand Hills gives me plenty of time to play with the dogs.

Melissa Pakdaman

Resort Host

Melissa is majoring in Animal Science at Cal Poly SLO. She is originally from the Bay Area and enjoys hiking, finding new food spots, traveling, and spending time with family and friends. Her favorite part about working at Thousand Hills Pet Resort is helping the dogs & cats feel at home while their owners are away. She loves working with all the different breeds and personalities. She also is happy to be working with such amazing coworkers!

Alexandria Rojas

Resort Host

Alexandria loves to skateboard, rock climb, and go on outdoor adventures. She loves learning about dogs and working with her adopted dog and best friend, Bomber. Working at Thousand Hills has been an amazing opportunity and blessing in her life.

Abby Knecht

Resort Host

Abigail has lived in San Luis Obispo her whole life and grew up around different animals and pets. She has five fur babies she loves taking on walks and playing with.  In her free time, she enjoys drawing, going to the beach, spending time with her puppy Rogan, and reading. Abigail is thankful to be a part of the THPR team and loves getting to work with dogs and create bonds with them while they are with us!

Johnny Perez

Resort Host

Johnny is from Fresno, California. He has worked with NLK9s and is proud to be a part of the Son Care foundation. In his spare time he loves to hang out and train with dogs from NLK9s, such as Drake! He’s met many dogs over the years and is so happy to be around them. He believes that you can never break a human and dog bond.

Taylor Piatt

Resort Host

Taylor is a student at Cal Poly majoring in business finance. She grew up working in her family’s vet hospital where her love for animals grew. What she enjoys most about THPR is learning each dog’s personality and watching them play together. In her free time, she volunteers with a marine mammal rescue in San Luis Obispo.

Kenneth Ball

Resort Host

Ken is originally from Azusa, CA. He moved to SLO two years ago. Ken’s passion and dream has always been to have a position working with dogs. Ken’s passion brought him to Thousand Hills Pet Resort. Ken enjoys being a part of Thousand Hills Pet Resort, and appreciates the community outreach and involvement. When not at work, Ken volunteers at the local Humane Society.

Mariah Barba

Resort Host

Mariah is a high school student working towards graduation as she starts her senior year. She plays water polo for two teams and spends most of her time at the pool practicing and soaking in the sun. She has two kittens named “Cheese” and “Diego” that love to play, cuddle, and be mischievous. She has always had a passion for animals and working at THPR is her dream job. 

August Clement 

Resort Host

August grew up in San Luis Obispo county and is happy to work at a job in the area that makes it their mission to help people. August grew up around animals, and has a dog and three cats that they love very much.

Sophia Tovar 

Resort Host

Sophia is from Corona, CA. Dogs are her favorite animal and have always been a part of her life. She currently has a puppy and I can't wait for him to grow and be able to come and play with the dogs at the resort. She enjoys this job because she is a big animal lover and loves hanging out with dogs and the occasional kitties.

Moraia Wroldsen 

Resort Host

Moraia loves animals of all kinds! She treasures the responsibility of serving each and every one of the special dogs and cats who visit THPR. In her free time she enjoys thousands of hobbies, including caring for her precious Netherland dwarf rabbit, Sinai.

Viviana Russ

Resort Host

COMING SOON

Julian Muniz

Resort Host

COMING SOON

Rhianna Frans

Resort Host

Rhianna moved to San Luis Obispo from Orange County, where she graduated from Cal State University Fullerton in business. She frequently vacationed in SLO as a child, and decided to make this her forever home. As someone who consistently grew up with many rescue animals in her household, she thrives at Thousand Hills. Knowing that she can make a difference in the lives of these animals gives her life meaning.

Sarah Zaghari

Resort Host

Sarah is an Animal Science major at Cal Poly who has been fortunate enough to work with many different types of animals ranging from elephant seals at the Marine Mammal Center in Morro Bay to sloths at a rescue center in Costa Rica. When she's not working with animals she enjoys learning new baking recipes, hanging out with friends, and going to the beach. She's excited to join the THPR team and can't wait to meet all of the dogs and cats staying here!

Areli Enriquez

Resort Host 

Areli is currently a Cal Poly student majoring in Art & Design. In her spare time, she's always with family and friends, traveling, or trying new things and having new experiences. She grew up surrounded by animals, and her love for them continues to this day. She has two fur babies she loves so much, a kitty named Sachi and her husky, Kalua. Areli is so excited to be a part of the THPR crew and strives to make all the dogs feel at home during their stay with us!