Meet our Trainer and Pet Sitter!

Leanne Illes, CPDT-KA, B.A, B.S.

Growing up in Valparaiso, Leanne was always around animals. There was always a small menagerie at home from cats and dogs to rabbits, fish, reptiles, and rodents of all types. As she got older her love for animals grew and she started training with her family dog, Mazie, when she was 15. When she began training at a local Positive Reinforcement Dog Training facility, things just clicked (literally!). The owner for the clicker training business was kind enough to mentor Leanne and feed her growing passion for dog behavior and training.

For college, Leanne went to Indiana University for Animal Behavior and Psychology. While there, she volunteered for a service dog training organization in form of fostering the service dogs in training and taking them to class and other public venues to further their experiences and set them up for success as future service dogs. When Leanne wasn’t volunteering, she did some in home pet sitting in Bloomington, IN where she met some awesome animals.

After graduation, Leanne worked at a service dog organization in Indianapolis and enjoyed using positive reinforcement training to train the dogs to help people. Following that experience, she worked as the Head Dog Trainer at a boarding facility. There she enjoyed helping pet dogs and their people better understand each other. It is so rewarding seeing that relationship flourish!

After working as a pet trainer for almost 3 years, Leanne, her two dogs, and her husband moved back to her hometown of Valparaiso, IN in Spring of 2024 to be closer to family. Leanne currently works at a local humane society as the behavior coordinator where she enjoys giving dogs, cats, and critters a second chance. At Porter’s Pets, Leanne is excited to get to know more pets and their humans and spread compassion to the pet care and training community!