About Us

Dr. Rigterink always has had a special interest in animal behavior, even before she attended veterinary school. She has been in clinical practice since graduating from the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine in 2005. She has consulted on more than 500 canine and feline behavior patients in recent years. Dr. Rigterink completed a residency in Animal Behavior at Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2017. Her research during her residency focused on evaluating surface temperature in dogs in the clinic setting and is published in the Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research. In 2018, she passed the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists (ACVB) certifying examination and is now a Board Certified Veterinary Behaviorist.

Dr. Rigterink is a Fear Free Certified Professional and an active member of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), the Indiana Veterinary Behavior Medical Association (IVMA), and the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (AVSAB).

In her free time, Dr. Rigterink enjoys spending time with her husband, two children, dog (Roxy) and cat (Lola).

Dr. Jean DeLong is from Springfield, Ohio.  Growing up she was active in 4-H showing horses and always had cats and dogs in her household.  She graduated from The Ohio State University Veterinary School in 1996 and has worked in small animal practice in the Indianapolis area since graduation.  She soon noticed behavior questions by owners were common and she decided to learn more about pet behavior.  She participated in a behavior training program through Purdue University Veterinary School. Then in 2010 she began offering veterinary behavioral services in the Indianapolis area for both dogs and cats.  Now she has decided to pursue a residency in animal behavior to become a board certified veterinary behaviorist.  

In her free time Dr. DeLong enjoys Foo Fighters music and concerts. She spends time with her husband who likes to cook and two daughters who keep her busy with Pony Club, gymnastics and Girl Scout activities.  She also has 5 cats (Sweety, Simba, Little Bit, Prince and Thistle) and one horse (Ghost – Tennessee Walker cross gelding).  

Animal behavior has always played a large role in Katie’s life. Katie graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and a minor in Biological Sciences in 2015 from UW-Milwaukee. For nearly a decade, Katie worked as a Zookeeper in various non-profit zoological institutions, caring for and training species including Great Apes, Small primates, Big Cats, Small cats, Domestic hoofstock, Small mammals, birds and Marine Mammals.

Katie recently transitioned from the Zookeeper life to working as a Behavioral Therapy Trainer at VBI. Katie joined the VBI team in May 2022.  She is Fear-Free Certified and she passed her Dog Trainer Professional Certification through the Karen Pryor Academy for Animal Training and Behavior in 2023.

When not training animals, Katie is an avid music lover, playing the piano and guitar, as well being a video and board game fanatic. Originally a Wisconsin-native, Katie now lives with her husband, Cody and their dogs (Raven and Wally), cat (Damian) and bearded dragon (Smaug) near Fishers, Indiana.

JoAnna is a Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner and holds a master’s degree in Comparative Pathobiology (Animal Behavior and Welfare Concentration) from Purdue University. Her passion for animal behavior began while working at a vet clinic in high school and she decided to make a career out of it. She graduated from Purdue with a BS in Animal Sciences in 2014, then took a quick, 5-year detour to teach high school science in South Texas through Teach For America before returning to Purdue for grad school. JoAnna’s research focused on the effect of caretaker interactions on dog welfare in commercial breeding kennels. During that time, JoAnna completed her Karen Pryor Academy certification and started seeing private training clients with a focus on fear and reactivity. She started working at Veterinary Behavior of Indiana at the beginning of 2024 and is so excited to continue learning about all things behavior!

JoAnna and her husband, Phil, share their home with their two dogs, Foxy (Chihuahua mix) and Maple (Red Heeler mix), and cat, Booger. In their spare time, they enjoy going on hikes with the dogs, playing soccer, and trying out new restaurants.

Teri Su is a local Carmel resident for over 20 years. During the past 18 years, she has worked in a human medical office doing billing and business administration. Her knowledge and experience will help our busy practice achieve the goal of creating a seamless and streamlined experience for our clients and their pets.

Teri Su is also very involved with the Paws On My Heart Inc cat rescue, where she volunteers, fosters, and rescues cats and helps with adoption and administrative activities. Working with and being around animals has always been her dream.