Merritt has always had a passion for animals and has been training for over a decade. She's a graduate of Birmingham Southern College and  is an ABC Certified Dog Trainer who has also successfully completed a marine mammal course. An active member of the Animal Behavior Management Alliance and the Association of Professional Dog Trainers, Merritt was a vet tech before pursuing her dream of opening Wags 'N Whiskers.

Alyson Hays

kennel assistant 

Alyson is one of our dedicated staff members who help keep the kennel clean, walk dogs and handle daycare. She is currently enrolled at Troy University with a major in Biomedical Sciences and on the pre-Vet track. Her love for meeting and working with the animals is a wonderful quality our pets and parents appreciate. Alyson has a miniature dachshund named Baby.

Kelly Darden

kennel manager 

Kelly helps with our Wags campers and the care of all our boarding pets. Her favorite part of the job is playtime with our furry friends. She loves seeing the dogs get so excited to come and play. Kelly majored in fine arts with a concentration in photography from the University of Montevallo and recently worked at the boarding stables in Oak Mountain State Park. Kelly's furry family includes a sweet cat named Kitten.

Anni Peyton

kennel assistant

In addition to managing the day-to-day operations at Wags, Jill founded and administers the Wags ‘N Whiskers Rescue. She is the proud owner of several rescue pets – Louise, Gucci, Stella, Squirts, Buddy the cat, and Gene Wilder a sweet poodle – and has wanted to be a part of the rescue and pet community since a young age. After graduating from Auburn University, she met Merritt while they were both techs at a local vet – the rest is history!

Natalie Johnson

assistant groomer/kennel assistant 

Natalie makes sure all our campers have a safe, clean, and happy experience during their stay at Wags ‘N Whiskers. She has completed classes at the University of Alabama and Jeff State as a theater major and her customer service experience is a real plus. She loves about her job at Wags Natalie and says, “I love being greeted by all the happy dogs and building a relationship with our regulars and newcomers.” Her own pets include 3 rescue cats, Pepper, Scarlett, and Atreus, a ball python named Manda, a corn snake, Aoda, western hoh nose snake named Choji, and a beta fish - Swim Shady.

Shaye Ferris

kennel assistant 

Shaye is one of our newest Wags family members, but she isn't new to working with pets. Her previous experience was as a kennel tech and that is great news for our furry friends. She "loves working with animals" and making sure they are happy as boarders and Campers. Shaye has a dog named Edith.

Courtney Brown

kennel assistant 

Meredith manages our social media pages, helps with day care and boarding pets, and daily office duties. She is a Communications Management graduate of UAB, with a concentration in PR & writing. Meredith loves working with animals and the opportunity to be creative. Her pets include 3 dogs, 2 cats, and 2 tortoises…all rescued from different corners of Alabama.

Emily Daniel

kennel assistant 

Emily takes good care of our boarders and campers, making sure they have clean runs, lots of water, food, and especially that they're HAPPY. A graduate of Montevallo with extensive experience as a trainer for Love Them Train Them, she is a real plus for all our furry friends. Emily has also been working with a no-kill sanctuary in Jemison since 2014. Her own pets include dogs - Lucius, Pumpkin, Little Bit, Tiberius, and Brunneis, and one cat - Cabbit.

"LJ" (Lauren-Jada Whitehurst)

 receptionist

"Welcome to Wags" is the friendly greeting LJ gives with a smile as you enter Wags. But greeting our furry friends and their paw-rents is just part of her job at Wags. LJ also takes care of our suite dogs, from cleaning to helping with Day Care. Her experience is rooted in customer service, having worked in retail and restaurants. When asked what she loves about working at Wags, her answer is simple..."Everything". LJ's pets include 3 dogs (Lucy, Marshall, and Harvey) and 3 cats (Ramona, Joplin, and Vega).

Sharea Dugger

 groomer

Fetch Find Approved

Wags ‘N Whiskers is proud to be a FetchFind Approved business! This means all of our employees receive professional-level pet care education and continue to take classes throughout their career with us. All of our staff training is via FetchFind Monthly Pro, the premier educational resource for pet industry professionals. This science-based and animal-centered curriculum has been developed by certified experts with decades of experience in the field.