Meet Our Trainer & Veterinarian

Lisa Rabine, ABCDT- Lisa has volunteered or been employed in municipal and nonprofit animal shelters throughout the state of Michigan for over a dozen years. She is a Certified Canine Trainer through Animal Behavior College with a focus on canine behavior modification programs, animal enrichment, behavioral assessments in shelter environments, and community education and outreach.  Lisa also serves as Vice President and Lead Program Facilitator for Teacher’s Pet: Dogs and Kids Learning Together, an intervention program that pairs troubled youth with hard-to-adopt shelter dogs for a multi-week workshop in positive, reward-based dog training and behavior modification in an effort to make the dogs more adoptable and to empower at-risk youth to improve in the areas of empathy, patience, impulse control, perseverance and hope.

Jeff Fortna, DVM, MS – Dr. Jeff graduated from veterinary school at Michigan State University in 2000.  He began his career in small animal private practice.  After five years in this traditional role, he branched out teaching veterinary technician students and providing relief services at a municipal shelter.  Shortly thereafter, he accepted a permanent position with the municipal shelter. Dr. Fortna endeavored to stay at the leading edge of shelter medicine by being one of two veterinarians in Michigan to complete the Maddie’s Graduate Certificate in Shelter Medicine and becoming one of the first graduates to receive a master’s degree in shelter medicine at the University of Florida.  This training has broadened his knowledge and skills in shelter medicine, veterinary forensics, and public health.  His areas of professional interest include protocol development for animal shelters, disease outbreak management, public health and zoonotic diseases, and surgical proficiency in high volume caseloads.  Dr. Fortna also works in private practice.