About Central Bark Gurnee

Cynthia joined our Central Bark team in the fall of 2014. She was one of our youngest employees, having just graduated from high school, but Cynthia was a fast learner with a can-do attitude, and she quickly moved into her current role as assistant manager. Cynthia radiates friendliness and confidence and is able to communicate effectively with both human and canine clients. She also excels at training and instilling good play group behaviors in our dogs, such as gate manners, group sits, recall and more. As a foodie, when Cynthia isn’t working, her hobbies include looking for new restaurants and foods to try, as well as make-up, watching movies, visiting haunted houses, and dressing up for the Renaissance Faire. Cynthia also enjoys exploring new places to hike with Kiko, her 5-year-old miniature Schnauzer. Kiko loves to be the leader when hiking and he’s a pro at sniffing out rats during barn hunts. When he is at Central Bark, Kiko is a ladies’ man who loves to play with all the girls, but especially Gracie, Luna and Lucy. When asked what she likes about working at Central Bark Gurnee, Cynthia answers, “whether it’s learning about dog behaviors, nutrition, breeds, or just what makes each pup unique, I learn something new every day.” We’re certain our dogs learn something new from Cynthia every day, too.

Earnest joined the Central Bark Gurnee team in November, 2018, in a rather unique fashion. We received a call from Earnest’s job coach. She told us she had a client who enjoys cleaning and loves dogs and wondered if we might have something for him. Likes to clean and loves dogs? Sounded like it could be a win/win so we had Earnest in for an interview. He and Layne immediately hit it off and Earnest nailed the interview. However, his job coach reminded him that he still had an interview with someone else the next day. Even though we had not officially offered him the job yet, Earnest told his coach that he didn’t want to go on another interview, he wanted to work here at Central Bark. The rest, as they say, is history. Earnest works several afternoons a week, first helping to let the dogs out to play group, then cleaning the nap room and then helping out in playgroup at the end his shift. Earnest is a valuable member of our team, doing excellent work maintaining the nap room as well as giving lots of love to the dogs. His work also frees up the other staff to provide more individual attention to all the dogs, since they know that the mundane but necessary task of cleaning crates is being expertly handled. When not working, Earnest loves playing his video games and watching all different types of movies on his DVD player. When asked what he likes best about working at Central Bark Gurnee, Earnest says it’s “working with all the different types of dogs, especially the bigger ones.” Earnest is looking forward to having his own dog soon (maybe a German Shepherd, Husky or Great Dane) and we know no matter what dog he ends up with, Earnest will be one amazing Dog Dad!

Terra joined our Central Bark Team in 2017. Terra works mainly in the playgroups, ensuring that your pups receive appropriate amounts of stimulation and rest, as well as maintaining safety. Terra is gentle and compassionate. This is evident in the love and affection she showers on each of your dogs and also in her out of work activities. For example, in addition to Central Bark, Terra works for Meals on Wheels, delivering meals to those in need. Besides delivering the food, Terra spends time visiting with all the recipients, providing much needed socialization and comfort for these individuals (when not in the midst of a pandemic). When not working, Terra enjoys music, theatre and reading. Terra lives with her beautiful teenaged daughter, Paulina, and their cat, Delany. While she doesn’t have a dog of her own, Terra considers all of the dogs here at Central Bark to be “her dogs.” When asked what she enjoys most about working at Central Bark she replies, “I like that I get to spend time with the dogs up close and personal, getting to know and see their different personalities. I like that every day is different.” We know that “her dogs” benefit every day from Terra’s caring personality.

Lizzy is our manager and has been working with us since Day 1, continuously learning, growing and expanding her role here, impressing us with her leadership skills and dependability. She easily transitions from working with all of our dogs out in playgroup to running the front of the store and providing outstanding customer service to our human clients. Lizzy works hard teaching our dogs a variety of important playgroup skills such as gate manners, recall and more. There’s almost nothing she can’t do. When Lizzy isn’t working, she likes to garden at home and she enjoys going out to the Renaissance Faire, concerts and the forest preserves. Lizzy is a dog mom to Scout, a 6-year-old Australian Shepherd, and has done extensive training with her. Scout is a Canine Good Citizen and has earned titles in agility. Lizzy also has a 7-year-old chocolate lab mix named Koby at home. Lizzy loves to share her knowledge with all of our dogs. When asked why she likes working at Central Bark Gurnee, Lizzy replies, “I love watching the daycare dogs learn and grow.” We know the dogs love Lizzy as well!

Sarah joined the Central Bark Team in February of 2018. She spends most of her time working directly with your dogs, facilitating safe and appropriate playtimes and rest times, and nurturing their development and social skills. However, she has begun working up front as well, bringing dogs out to their parents and sharing news of their day at daycare. Sara is a past cheerleader and her enthusiastic and energetic attitude shines through in everything she does, with dogs and people alike. When not working, Sara is busy learning. She is learning to cook, and she is also attending college in pursuit of her animal behavior degree. Additionally, Sara enjoys taking her 2-year-old Golden Retriever, Nala, to a field and throwing the ball to her. Sara’s favorite thing about working at Central Bark Gurnee is learning new things about each dog and their different personalities. She also likes that fact that “no matter what type of day you are having the dogs always find a way to cheer you up.” The dogs love Sara and we think having a valuable team member like Sara is something to cheer about!

Gabi joined our Central Bark team in May of 2020. While new to our store, Gabi has experience working in other doggy day care centers. School took her out of state, but when she returned back to the area, she found us, and we’re glad she did. An experienced dog handler and motivated learner, Gabi fits right in, easily adapting to the Central Bark philosophies and providing excellent care to all of our dogs. When not working, Gabi enjoys cooking, watching The Office, and spending time with her dog, Albert, by the lake or hiking along a trail. Gabi’s favorite thing about working at Central Bark Gurnee is “being able to create and build new relationships with all the dogs who attend day care. I believe each dog has their own individual, unique personality, which makes getting to bond with them so much more lovely.” We look forward to many more bonding opportunities for Gabi and the dogs of Central Bark Gurnee.