Animal Care Professionals
We work with so many in the animal care industry to help the animals in our care, as well as set our foster, volunteers and adopters up for success. It is also our mission to connect all animal-lovers with animal professionals making an impact on health, behavior and general wellness in our community.
Animal Control Officers are responsible for enforcing local ordinances, state statutes and regulations related to: unlicensed dogs; leash law violations; unvaccinated animals; animal bite quarantine; and all animal complaints from citizens as well as formal complaints. They also help rehome unclaimed/stray animals and assist in law enforcement cases.
In the past year, Baypath has worked with animal control officers from more than 25 cities and towns throughout Massachusetts to take in lost, stray, and abandoned animals. In 2014, Baypath began serving Hopkinton’s Animal Control needs to house stray and lost dogs and cats. This contract, renewable every two years, guarantees the town two dog kennels at any one time, as well as space for cats. There are also formal relationships with the towns of Grafton and Westborough.
Rachel Geller, Ed.D. is a certified cat behavior counselor through the Humane Society of the United States. Rachel developed a Cat Behavior and Retention Program, and her work was recognized nationwide as a “Model Program” by HSUS.
For years, Rachel has worked with our organization to empower staff and volunteers through several training opportunities, webinars, and our Humane Lecture Series. She has also been involved in helping countless adopters successfully work on behavior challenges.
Beth Macleod, a longtime partner of ours, officially joined our team as Director of Training & Behavior this year. She is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer – Knowledge Assessed (CPDT-KA). This is a designation that requires hundreds of hours of hands-on positive-reinforcement-based training work to earn and annual continuing education to maintain. For over 20 years she has taught classes, done in-home consultations and worked with Baypath – training staff, volunteers, adopters and working with challenging dogs.
She improves the lives of even the most behaviorally challenged dogs – and their families – by empowering people to better understand each dog’s needs using humane science-based methods.
Dr. Suzy Starr and her team are leaders in the pet rehabilitation field. The certified staff at Paws in Motion tend to animals in need in their comprehensive facility by crafting individual rehabilitation plans and seeing them through.
Throughout the years, Suzy has generally donated her time and talent to help dogs in our care who need diagnostics and/or rehabilitation. Her efforts further help us gather a full health profile for these animals so that we can set them up for their best chance at success.
Our training partners are critical to our ability to both help the animals in our care, as well as set our adoptive families up for success. All of our training partners endorse science-based positive-reinforcement methods (no punishment is used). Some of our preferred training facilities include:
Dingo Dog Studio – Kim trainer is a seasoned CPDT-KA who has helped us with in-home consults, as well as informing on behavior articles.
Life is Dog – Nance, Dana, and the team at are one of the preeminent training groups around who focus on positive reinforcement training and reinforcing the animal-human bond.
Masterpeace – Fran and her team are another renowned training group in the area, focusing on training classes, as well as agility and competition training.
We partner with GoodPup*, the nation’s leading dog training service over live 1-on-1 video chat. GoodPup’s training programs are based on positive reinforcement training methods recommended by the American Veterinary Medical Association. GoodPup training is 1–1, at-home, on your schedule, with trainers ready to help 24/7. Plus, a week of private training with GoodPup costs the same as a single group class at most pet stores.
*Every Baypath community member is eligible for 1 FREE week of training + 20% Off for Life. GoodPup will make a generous donation to Baypath for every client who signs up after the first free week.
Saying goodbye to a beloved pet is an incredibly difficult thing. Surrounding them with love and comfort in their own during this time can bring them great peace – as well as you.
We are often asked for recommendations for this service and cannot recommend our partner Dr. Christine Maxfield enough. She is a licensed veterinarian who specializes in this difficult, but important, service, giving respect and compassion to all.
Having a pet sitter you can trust is essential. It is important that they be responsible and dependable. Furthermore, you want someone experienced with a comprehensive understanding of dog body language, dog behavior and challenges, like resource guarding, fear and reactivity. Selecting the right pet sitter will best set you and your dog up for success.
These trusted pet sitters run reputable businesses in the MetroWest community:
Read more about how to select a pet sitter
Natick Animal Clinic – Dr. Andrea Moolenbeek, Medical Director at Natick Animal Clinic sees to the care of our animals on a weekly basis. Her routine visits, as well as her expertise regarding protocols and best practices, ensure the best of care for our animals.
VCA Westborough – The wonderful team at VCA Westborough has forged a critical partnership with us in the last few years. They have supported our mission in a myriad of ways, including support of our signature events with sponsorship, VCA-specific fundraising initiatives, supply drives, and medical support.
Ashland Animal Hospital – The team at Ashland has been a critical medical partner of ours for years. Beyond general wellness and surgical support, they have supported us in the form of sponsorships as well.
Hopkinton Home Vet – Dr. Surrell Levine and her team run a mobile vet practice in the Hopkinton area. They understand the challenges of pet owners and animals who for whom a trip to a vet’s office is just not an option.
In addition, the great surgical programs at Tufts, Second Chance Animal Services and Sterling Shelter Clinic enable us to take on and care for that many more animals.