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 

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!

Adrianna Johnson

 kennel assistant

Loving what you do is important to Adrianna and that’s why her love of caring for pets and the trust placed in her at Wags, makes her job so enjoyable. Being able to play with the pups at daycare and seeing them happy and energetic is definitely her passion. She makes sure each pet has fun and a clean environment during their stay at Wags. A pet parent herself, Adrianna has a cat named Xander, a ferret named Johnny Cash..

Natalie Johnson

assistant groomer/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.

Katy Newton

kennel assistant 

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.