Our Lindenhurst Team

My name is April Heisler, and I am a Chicago suburb native, and the owner of Camp Bow Wow Lindenhurst. My passion for animals started at a very young age. Ever since I can remember, I was drawn to animals and wanted to bring home every single one I came across. One of my early jobs in high school was cleaning kennels at a local animal boarding facility. As an adult, I pursued a higher education in math and business. I have spent the last 17 years in the corporate world. While my career has been successful, it was missing something. Passion.

For the last 13 plus years, I have been dedicating my free time to fostering and advocating for homeless dogs. I have personally fostered over 300 dogs! During all my time in rescue work, I have seen the opportunity and need for quality boarding and daycare services. It is so hard to find someone that you can trust to take care of your fur-babies. I know my pups mean the world to me and I want the best for my own 4-legged kids!

This is how I discovered Camp Bow Wow. I finally found a business that aligned with my standard of care, and love of dogs! Now it’s been full steam ahead, taking my passion to the next level. I cannot wait to welcome all the future campers when we open our doors, which will be soon!"

Stefanie started with Camp Bow Wow in December 2022 shortly after we opened our doors. She started as a front desk receptionist and quickly moved into a front desk trainer role. And then in February of 2024 she officially took on the manager role. Stefanie has been a wonderful member of the CBW Lindenhurst family and serves our clients 2-legged and 4-legged with such compassion, integrity, and enthusiasm. She takes great pride in her job and loves to greet every pup that walks in our doors. At home she enjoys spending time with her family which includes her husband, two daughters, a brand new grand-daughter and her little pup “Lady.”

My name is Mya. I have been working with dogs for nearly 10 years, and I've been actively involved in dog training for the past 2 years now. I hold a certification from the renowned Karen Pryor Academy, which is something I take a significant amount of pride in, especially since the dog training industry lacks regulation. To further enhance my skills and knowledge, I continue my education through an apprenticeship with Who’s a Good Boy Ind., a respected organization based out of New York City. In this role, I work with a wide variety of challenging cases, gaining invaluable experience and learning more about the ethology behind effective dog training practices.

But what got me started? My dream was to always be a vet. I have always had a passion for dogs, and that seemed the way to go! But, then I got my first challenging dog that I rescued from the side of the road. His name is now Benji. Benji came to me with human and dog aggression. He completely changed the way I look at dogs. I knew after having him that I had to understand how he was truly feeling to be able to help him. Obedience wasn’t going to be enough.

Now here we are, 2 years later. He has made so much progress. We do agility, dock diving, and plan on doing more! I have gained so much about dog behavior, all thanks to my own dogs. I now own 4 dogs and they are my pride and joy. I always make sure to treat clients dogs exactly like I would expect my own to be treated, with kindness and compassion.