![The Board Hound [ Premier Boarding Facility: Shirlington, Arlington, Virginia + Old Town Alexandria, Virginia ]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/the-board-hound-logo.png){kind=logo}
Meg Long-Sappington
Owner
Meg is an avid dog lover who is particularly fond of homeless, scruffy mutts. She first embraced the benefits of Dog Daycare while living in Atlanta with her first dog, a somewhat challenging mutt named Bruno. Seeing the results of a dog surrounded by positive experiences whenever at Daycare opened her eyes to a new way of owning dogs. Upon moving to Northern Virginia, She couldn’t quite find just the right facility she and Bruno had become accustomed to. Thus the idea for The Board Hound emerged to bring Boarding and Daycare to another level. Meg has her PetSaver PetTech CPR, First Aid & Care certification. She received her Bachelor of Science in Information Management from the Dolan School of Business at Fairfield University.
Jess Ward, MA
Senior Director
& Canine Behavior Specialist
Jess began with The Board Hound in 2012 and set a goal to improve the quality of the animal care industry. With over 15 years of professional experience in canine behavior, Jess is committed to making the world a safer place for animals starting with providing quality dog daycare, boarding, and training needs to our community. With a focus on humane animal care methodology and implementing science-based approaches to dog daycare and boarding, she has revolutionized dog care in the DMV over the last decade.
Jess earned a Bachelor of Arts in 2009 and a Master of Arts in Psychology in 2018. She is now pursuing her PhD in Psychology with a concentration in Cognitive & Behavioral Neuroscience from George Mason University. She is also a Teaching Assistant at George Mason, instructing undergraduate courses on learning theory and research methods. Her academic and professional interests include researching animal cognition and emotions, and exploring the effects of trauma conditions such as PTSD and C-PTSD on brain development.
These days, Jess mostly works behind the scenes at The Board Hound, but you may catch her in-facility for the occasional class or mid-day staff meeting. Jess lives in Arlington with her partner and their pets of various species. The gang consists of Kono the greyhound mix, Fizzy the cattle dog mix, Alfredo the rescue ball python, Diablo the rescue king snake, and lots of houseplants.
