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, two dogs (Gus and Kona), and cat (Lola).

Amy is a Registered Veterinary Nurse and Certified Trainer with over 25 years of animal experience. She graduated from Purdue University with her Veterinary Technician Associate degree in 1995 and from the Karen Pryor Academy as a Certified Training Partner in 2016. Helping to ensure patients’ physical and emotional health is the absolute best is what Amy loves most about her job.

Amy shares her busy home with her husband Mike, their 3 children and several dogs and cats. During her free time when she’s not working with one of her own training partners at home, she can be found with her nose in a book or her behind in some bleachers cheering on her kids or her beloved Boilermakers.

Dogs have always been a part of Renee’s life when got her first Dalmatian after she bought her first home. She has worked with many dogs of all sizes and temperaments, including shelter dogs, puppy mill rescues, Korean meat farm rescues, and hurricane victims. She began volunteering at IndyHumane in 2013 and became part of the team that worked with dogs with behavior problems before they could be adopted. She also has experience training medical alert service dogs.  She enjoys helping owners build a better bond with their pets through positive reinforcement training. She is a supporting member of the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC) and is preparing to start her Certified Animal Behavior Consultant certification soon.

Renee shares her home with two dogs, Jax and Yana. In her free time, she enjoys hiking with Jax, reading, and fulfilling Yana’s goal of being a 60-pound lap dog.

Connie Swaim works closely with the team at the Veterinary Behavior of Indiana. She is the owner of Connie Swaim Canine Behavior Services. She has been professionally working with dogs since 2009. However, her parents knew she was going to do something with animals when she escaped from home at the age of 5 and was found walking down a country road an hour later with a group of four dogs.

She started working with the behavior department of the Humane Society of Indianapolis and implemented the shelter’s first behavior modification protocols to save dogs that were not immediately adoptable. Later she took over the training school at the shelter and held 12 group classes a week.

When starting her own business, she decided to focus on helping dog owners understand more about their dogs and help dogs and humans have a better life together. Connie is a behavior seminar and podcast junkie and loves learning new techniques to help dogs and their people. She also enjoys blogging about her experiences with dogs.

For the last nine years, Connie has also been a member of a search and rescue team and has certified two human remains detection dogs. She also moderates a Facebook group for force-free trainers and others interested in animal welfare. Connie works with many Indiana animal rescues in both a consulting capacity for helping shelter dogs have more enriched lives as well as teaching volunteers and staff best practices for working with dogs in a shelter setting.