The Grateful Dogs Team
Jason Grant, Owner
Jason has been the owner of Grateful Dogs since 2005, when it first opened. His dream of expanding his business to include a dog daycare was realized in 2012.
In his free time, Jason spends it with family and friends, playing music, being in or around water, gaming, reading, and anything Star Wars.
Taylor Allen, Manager
Taylor started working at Grateful Dogs as a Daycamp Counselor in 2013 and was promoted to Assistant Manager in 2016. Her favorite thing about being at Grateful Dogs is getting to know the dogs in our pack and recognizing their quirks. Watching the dogs that tend to be more shy play and come out of their shell is something she loves seeing!
You can find Taylor helping with every aspect of the shop. Whether that be enrolling daycamp members, lending extra hands to a groomer or offering advice and guidance to clients.
When Taylor isn't at the shop, she's training her dog in cadaver search and retrieval, catering to her critters ( you should see the habitats she makes !) and being creative. To see some of her amazing art, visit her Glass Petching Facebook Page.
Taylor lives in Tumwater with her husband Tevin, their two dogs, Nyle and Nora (follow them on Instagram!), two cats , turtles and a hedgehog.
Meet our Groomers
Anna Lumsden
Anna has been professionally grooming since 2007.
She has been with Grateful Dogs since 2010. Her favorite thing about being a groomer is that every day is a different story. She loves being able to build a strong bond with her clients. As a long time Olympia resident, Anna is the kind of gal who knows someone every where she goes!
Anna has experience with many types of breeds and temperaments. She has developed amazing handling skills and it shows!
Being an amazing groomer is only one of her talents.
Anna opened a soaping business, Flying Squirrel Soapery. When she isn't creating new products, you can find Anna paddle boarding or buried in a good book.
Anna lives in Olympia with her husband, Neil, along with her three dogs, Emmie, Cricket, and Lola, as well as her cat, Kia.
Elicia McNeal
Elicia has been professionally grooming since 2010 and started working at Grateful Dogs in 2019. She loves having a career that gives her opportunities to see different breeds everyday. Making them happy and cute is also a plus!
Elicia's grooming specialties include large breed dogs (specifically German Shepherds) and tidy trims. She has been known to slide off the shoes and hop in the tub with bigger doggos to get the job done her way! We like it and so do the pups!
In her spare time, Elicia loves to be outside any chance she can. You can find her spending time with her daughter, being around horses or sitting around a fire in her backyard.
Elicia lives in Rochester with her daughter, Lotus, and her mother, Paula. They have numerous kitties, turtles and lizards.
Jesarae Norton
Jesarae has been professionally grooming since 2001 and a Grateful Dogs groomer since 2006. She has the most grooming experience out of all of our groomers! She is always a go-to for fellow groomers at the shop when they have technical questions. Her favorite part about being a groomer is taking the "before" and creating the "after."
Jes loves to work with poodles and doodles. She has so much love for the breed she now owns one! A golden doodle, Eevee, that you have probably seen roaming the shop floor. Jesarae also has a special talent working with dogs that get a bit testy for grooming. Her calm, confident demeanor is something amazing!
When Jesarae isn't at the shop, she occasionally fills in to drive a school bus for the Tenino school district. We know.... a patient woman! She is also an independent distributor for Young Living Essential Oils.
Jes lives in Bucoda with her husband, Chad, their sons, Corbin and Jameson, and their daughter, Loren. They have two dogs, Eevee and Oscar, and one cat, Kitty.
Kayla Swearingen
Kayla has been professionally grooming since 2010 and started working at Grateful Dogs in 2019. She is our only groomer with education from Master Academy of Fine Grooming in Kenmore, Washington! She brings a wide variety of dog knowledge and grooming techniques to the table. Kayla is also an experienced dog handler AND has a history in the veterinary field. What more could this woman do?? She grooms our kitty friends too!
Transformations are Kayla's favorite part about grooming. Whether that be an awesome haircut or a nervous dog that has become relaxed by the process. You can always find Kayla trying out new pet products and tailoring grooms to fit each dogs' needs. Lately, she is loving creative grooming! Her personal dogs can be spotted in fun colors on occasion and we all see a little happy dance when she gets the go-ahead to add color to her grooming clients. Give the shop a call to take to Kayla about creative grooming and your pet!
When Kayla isn't at the shop, she loves going to dog shows. She spent years showing dogs in 4H and later on professionally! She is a volunteer and leader with the 4H club she was once a member and now her children attend the same club. Her two oldest sons have shown a huge interest in following in her showmanship footsteps!
Kayla lives in Yelm with her fiance, Kyle. They have four sons; Wyatt, Waylon, Walker and Weston. Their pets include 5 dogs, kitties, goats and chickens!
Linsey Pulver
Linsey has been professionally grooming since 2013 and started working at Grateful Dogs in 2018. Before starting her grooming career,Linsey was in the cosmetology field. Somewhere along the way she switched species! Always loving the connection with her clients, that relationship now extends to the fuzzier part of the family.
Linsey's grooming specialty is working with senior and medically compromised dogs. Her grooming process is all about being gentle and finding ways to make the groom as comfortable for the pet as possible.
If you have a senior pet and/or questions about your dog's medical standing as it pertains to their gooming needs, give her a ring at the shop.
When Lins isn't at the salon, she spends free time with her fiance, Erik , boating, hiking, and fostering for Old Dog Haven. They currently have two dogs, a final refuge foster dog, a cat, chickens and quail!
Mozelle Byers
Mozelle started working in the pet industry in 2011 and became a professional dog groomer in 2013. Grateful Dogs has had the pleasure of hosting her grooming magic since 2018. Mozelle came to the Olympia area for a change of scenery and to be closer to her Aunt and Uncle. This Texas gem absolutely brings the sunshine to the shop!
Mozelle is very experienced with poodles, bichons, and dogs with long/drop coats. She loves learning new techniques and cuts, expressing her creative side and building relationships with her clientele. If your looking for an amazing transformation, someone to keep up with your pet's beautiful coat and a dose of sweetness- you have found your groomer !
In her spare time, Mozelle likes taking hot yoga classes, hiking, cooking/baking and binging Netflix. She's also a big Star Wars fan! Brownie points with the boss man.
Mozelle lives in the Tenino area with her boyfriend Derek and their senior pitbull Gambit.
Whitney Myette
Whitney has been professionally grooming since 2016 and started working part-time at Grateful Dogs in 2019. Whitney was introduced to Grateful Dogs by Elicia, another groomer at the shop. She is originally form Las Vegas and we are so glad to have her here now!
Her favorite things about being a groomer are working with different types of dogs and making "dog friends!" She loves having the opportunity to get creative with her work.
When Whitney isn't at the shop she is practicing her creative dying skills with her personal dogs. She says she might just enter a competition... we can get behind that! Whitney loves spending time with her daughter, travelling to Oregon and fishing.
Whitney lives in the Olympia area with her daughter, Sophie, their dogs, cats and a pet fish.
Meet our Daycamp Counselors
Kylina Matteoli - Lead Daycamp Counselor
Kylina has been working at Grateful Dogs as a daycamp counselor since 2017 and promoted to our Lead daycamp counselor in 2019. Her favorite thing about working with the dogs is simply handing out belly rubs! She says it's her therapy.
Kylina has the most genuine, infectiously sweet way about her. She is amazing with anxious or nervous dogs. Being able to understand their worries when most are perplexed. The shop Angel!
In her spare time, Kylina likes to read novels and comics, work on freelance writing gigs for various websites and is currently working on a novel of her own. She and her husband, Tobias, love to get into projects together and are big fans of cosplay and comicon.
Kylina and Tobias recently welcomed their first child to the family, baby Sophie! They live in Olympia with their dog, Taryn.
Megan Barnes
Megan has been with Grateful Dogs since 2015, working in both grooming and the daycamp. Collectively, Megan has almost 30 years of experience in several fields of the pet industry! She has worked in grooming salons , dog daycare and boarding facilities, veterinary clinics, wild life rehabilitation, exotic animal and aquatic shops. Now you know how insanely lucky we are to have Megan here at Grateful Dogs!
Megan enjoys many things about working at Grateful Dogs! Seeing insecure dogs blossom and learn to love playing, establishing bonds with dogs and their owners, making grooming clients happy with de-shed transformations, is does not end! However, the most touching thing Megan said she loves about being at Grateful Dogs is being entrusted with others "dog children."
In her spare time, Megan likes to paint (acrylic and watercolor), watch horror movies and collecting the memorabilia, gardening, fish tank keeping and Netflix. Oh, and Amazon shopping!
Megan lives in a tiny house in Rochester with her pets! She has 5 dogs, 5 cats, several rats, quail and fish.
Tianna Snyder
Tianna started working at Grateful Dogs as a daycamp counselor in 2020. She has been working in pet care for 7 years! So far, Tianna's favorite thing about working at Grateful Dogs is the staff. The family atmosphere is something special! We're not crying, you're crying!
Tianna says her favorite types of dogs are CRAZY...Once she told us she has a herding dog, we understood what she meant! She recently adopted her cattle dog, River, from a reservation in Yakima.
In her spare time, she spends time working with River and going hiking. Sounds like a PNW gal! Taianna also has one cat, Saaya, that she says is very attached to her.
Grateful Dogs Grooming and Daycamp serves the Thurston County area
including Olympia, Lacey, Tumwater, and Yelm.
We offer a 5% military discount to our active service members and our veterans.