Jennifer Cattet Ph.D. CPDT-KA
Co-Founder/Executive Director
Jennifer, along with her husband Jack Topham, founded Medical Mutts with two goals in mind: helping those who need service dogs and helping dogs that have been abandoned find a quality forever home.
Jennifer has a Doctorate in Psychology with a specialization in Animal Behavior (Ethology). She completed her studies at the Faculty of Psychology in Geneva Switzerland where she was an assistant professor for 8 years. She has worked professionally as a dog trainer and behaviorist since 1988.
Jennifer started the first professional dog training school based on clicker training in France (Animalin). She is the author of “Selecting and Training Your Service Dog: How to Succeed in Public Access Work.”
Passionate about helping people in difficulty, she learned how to train service dogs while working as the Director of Training for ICAN, a local prison-based organization. She enjoyed coaching the inmate trainers and helping them develop skills to better their lives while helping people with disabilities. It was during those years that she learned about the impact of life-threatening conditions, such as diabetes and started developing training protocols for medical alert dogs. Her love for dogs led her in 2013 to continue working with service dogs while also making a difference for dogs in need. She since has set her focus on medical conditions and the use of scent for service dogs.
With her scientific background, she also contributes to ongoing scientific research in the field of medical detection and has co-authored the first peer-reviewed studies proving the existence of a scent, that dogs can be trained to detect, in patients with diabetes or epileptic seizures. Given her expertise in the field of service dog training and medical detection, as well as her fluency in both English and French, Jennifer also coaches service dog organizations and trainers internationally. Her coaching services can be found at https://assistancedog.center/.
AKC approved CGC evaluator.
Jack Topham
Co-Founder/Director of Finance and Administration
Jack is often the first person you’ll get to talk to when you call the office. He’ll take the time to listen and understand your needs and will go over our different programs so you can make the best decision. If we can’t help you, he’ll try to direct you to the right source and provide you with all the information you need about service dogs in general. He keeps track of new trends in the service dog world and a list of all the other service dog organizations that he can refer people to. Every day of the week, he responds to over 30 inquiries with patience and understanding.
Jack is in charge of finances and administration. He also provides customer support and services. He is a stickler when it comes to processes and keeping the organization on the right path and in good standing.
Jack is also responsible for staff management and supply purchasing. He has been involved in service dog training since 2009 and is always looking for new ways to help both the people and the dogs.
With his office wide open to any person walking through the door, Jack is often sharing his space with the office cat, Marvin. Marvin loves to make messes with Jack’s piles of important documents or jump on his computer at the worst of times.
Kelsey Burton
Director of Development
Kelsey Burton is the Director of Development at Medical Mutts, bringing over two decades of experience in both the non-profit and for-profit sectors.
She previously was the Executive Director of Paws & Think. She previously worked for the American Red Cross and the Family Support Center and has an extensive background in fundraising, outreach, and public relations. As a dog lover who is passionate about small nonprofits, Kelsey describes her role with Medical Mutts as the “perfect fit – a mesh of everything I am passionate about.”
Kelsey, who is an Indiana native, has been involved with nonprofits since the age of 16 – she volunteered with the Humane Society as a teenager, lead a Youth Advisory Council, was a member of Point of Youth, and went on to found the Indiana College Advocacy Team while attending Butler University. She graduated from Butler in 2006 with a degree in Biology & Chemistry. While living in Wisconsin, she attended the Leadership Development Academy and was the Membership Chair for the Chippewa Valley Fundraising Professionals. She is currently a member of Successful Women Made Here and was one of their spotlight speakers in 2017 and 2021. In 2020, Kelsey was selected as United Way’s Elevate Awards Nonprofit Employee of the Year.
Kelsey lives in Westfield with her husband, Josh, and their five dogs Ava, Lily, Hermie, Dinky Bean, and Trinket. Kelsey helps at the Humane Society for Hamilton County on a weekly basis and is passionate about helping shelter dogs reach their full potential. Kelsey and Josh met when they were both students at Butler and have been married since 2011. In her spare time, Kelsey enjoys reading, playing with her dogs, watching movies, and spending time with her family – especially her niece, who is also a big dog lover.
Eva Rudisile CPDT-KA
Director of Client Services
Eva puts her heart and energy into helping our clients with their service dogs. She truly cares about the success of the partnership and applies her knowledge and skills in the coaching and support of our clients.
In addition to being a certified dog trainer, Eva is also a board-certified Music Therapist with a focus in Neurologic Music Therapy, NICU, and general pediatrics. She also facilitates healing through rhythms and clinical hypnosis.
Eva is a passionate dog lover and has taken her personal dog Nico through the CGC and Therapy dog certification. She has joined Indy Disk Dog, Agility, and Nosework. She is also training her dog Nico with Midwest Search Dogs
Eva is SARTEC 2 & 3 certified as well as CPR/First Aid for humans and pets.
As a therapist as well as a dog trainer, she understands the importance of clear communication between humans and dogs. She is continuing to perfect her knowledge as a dog expert through the Academy for Dog Trainers.
Melissa Morris CPDT-KA
Director of Training
Melissa has a challenging mission to supervise the training of all of our dogs. She makes sure the trainers are up to date with the latest training techniques, maintains our standards of training, and provides guidance and support when needed.
Melissa has an extensive background in animal training. She has learned and worked for some of the most accomplished trainers in the world.
Under world-renowned Dr. Sophia Yin, she worked with both cats and dogs, in training, low-stress management, and teaching.
Melissa also comes with years of experience working in shelters and laboratories. She is an expert in assessing cats and dogs, developing and implementing behavior modification protocols, and teaching owners how to better interact with their animals.
Melissa has devoted her career to making a difference in the life of animals and those who love them.
AKC approved CGC evaluator and is certified CPR and First Aid
Jenna Miller
Trainer
Jenna has always had a passion to work with animals, more specifically dogs. She came to work at Medical Mutts to help rescue dogs start a new life. She started off as a caring member for the dogs but knew she had what it takes to train service dogs and is now currently employed as a trainer. She is looking to further her career working with dogs while also helping people along the way. Jenna strives to learn everything she can to understand dogs, and how they think, and feel, and to help her dogs succeed in the program.
Jordan Jones
Trainer
Jordan started as our new trainer on January 9th. Prior to joining our team, they worked as a veterinary assistant at IndyVet Emergency Hospital and a Medical Coordinator at the Humane Society for Hamilton County. They also come with experience managing and training dogs at Positively Canine.
Kayla Pence
KPA
Trainer
Kayla loves dogs and enjoys learning everything she can about them. She would say that she “loves nerding out about all things dog behavior.” She has a special place in her heart for rescue dogs and worked in a shelter before joining our team.
But Kayla is not only about helping dogs. She also truly enjoys working with people, teaching them about dogs, and most importantly, making a difference in their lives through dogs.
She has two dogs, Rafiki and Apollo.
Karrilyn Pratt
Canine Care Attendant
Karri had worked at Walmart as a stocker and had her diploma when she graduated from the Excel center. Her hobbies are Taking care of animals, spending time with friends, and watching wrestling. She adopted her dog, Houdini, from Medical Mutts: “He is the best dog I could ever ask for! I love being part of Medical Mutts because I know we are doing the right thing for dogs, also I love working with dogs because they make me feel good about myself knowing I’m taking care of an animal.”
Samantha Smith
Canine Care Attendant
Samantha had been training service dogs for about 6 years and received her certification through ICAN. When she found Medical Mutts, she wanted to move forward: “I believe in their dream of saving dogs, helping people, and promoting kindness.” Samantha loves animals and working with all kinds of dogs. Teaching them the skills to be able to help people is rewarding and motivates Samantha every day in her work. “There is nothing comparable to helping two souls help each other in life.”
In the process, Samantha also found her perfect companion who helps her every day, his name is Halo. “Without being a part of this company, I wouldn’t have been blessed to find him. I have had animals my whole life but thanks to being a part of this family, I found my perfect match!”
Karrilynn Piatt
Canine Care Attendant
Karri had worked at Walmart as a stocker and had her diploma when she graduated from the Excel center. Her hobbies are Taking care of animals, spending time with friends, and watching wrestling. She adopted her dog, Houdini, from Medical Mutts: “He is the best dog I could ever ask for! I love being part of Medical Mutts because I know we are doing the right thing for dogs, also I love working with dogs because they make me feel good about myself knowing I’m taking care of an animal.”
Anthony Cattet
Media & Web developer
Anthony has a passion for animals of all kinds. Son of Jennifer Cattet, co-founder of Medical Mutts, he grew up in France and in Indiana amongst dogs, cats, horses, chicken, and other furry or feathered friends. He understands and values the deep connection one can make with an animal. As a Falconer and a dog trainer, Anthony places his work and his heart into making a difference in the lives of those who can’t speak for themselves.
Anthony is in charge of media and creates all the videos for Medical Mutts. He is also in charge of keeping our website functional and up to date.
Sandi Kammerer
Volunteer Coordinator
After witnessing a Medical Mutts service dog graduation ceremony, Sandi realized that there are so many different ways that service dogs can impact the quality of life for their partners and wanted to help.
As Program Manager for Paws and Think, Inc., Sandi learned how beneficial our relationships with our dogs can be. She has years of experience in project management and program development including recruitment, training, and supervision of volunteers. This experience also includes training dog handlers to understand canine behavior and watch for stress signals with a focus on advocating for their dogs.
In March 2017, in order to learn more about the Human-Animal Bond, Sandi took classes with Animal Behavior Institute and became a Certified Animal Assisted Therapy Professional.
She currently volunteers as a therapy dog team for Paws and Think, Inc. with her dog Daisy, at the White River Library with my niece, and at the USO at Camp Atterbury with my sister. She is also a member of the Indiana Crisis Assistance Response Team. In her free time, she loves to read and do flower arranging.
With her husband, Larry, she shares our home in Greenwood with two dogs, Penny and Daisy, and two cats, Cassie and Watson, who all get along… most of the time.
Marvin
Cat
Marvin came from Indianapolis Animal Care and Control. He was adopted over the winter of 2020 and has made a home at our offices at Medical Mutts. Marvin has several important roles in the office. He is the greeter to anyone coming through the door and the cat tester for all of our service dogs in training. He also makes sure to provide the staff with plenty of entertainment.
Marvin believes that he is the official owner of the facility and makes sure the staff caters to all of his needs. He often drives Jack crazy by removing all of the documents from his corkboard or pushing papers out of the printer!