![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 providing quality dog resources to our community. Through a fear-free lens, implementing science-based approaches, Jess’ passion is creating safe spaces for animals.
Jess earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology & Business 2009 and a Master of Arts in I/O Psychology in 2018. Currently, Jess is currently pursuing a PhD in Cognitive & Behavioral Neuroscience from George Mason University. She is a Graduate Teaching Assistant, instructing undergraduate courses on learning theory and research methods. Jess’ interests include the impact of fear and stress on animals, and recently traveled to Thailand to study the effects of tourism on natural behavior loss in captive-raised elephants.
Jess is an Arlington native, where she currently lives with her human partner, dog duo Kono & Fizz, and ball python Alfredo the Boop Noodle (AKA Alfie).
