Shady Spring Pet Retreat

Our Staff

Adrienne Shipley

Pet Care Manager
Medical Technician

Adrienne BowersAdrienne was born and raised in Westminster, MD. She graduated from North Carroll High School in 1999 and then moved to Hanover, PA in 2002. Through high school she was employed with Gist Answering Service where she answered emergency calls for the Humane Society of Carroll County, along with many veterinarians, doctors and businesses in the area. The business shut down in November of 1999. Adrienne came to work for Shady Spring in April of 2000, working her way up to pet care manager and diets and medications technician. She began taking veterinary assistant certification courses with Thompson University online while working full time, completing her courses in 2002. She also has three years of hands-on training with an experienced vet tech mentor at Shady Spring. Her menagerie of pets has included chinchillas, ferrets, snakes, turtles, guinea pigs, dogs, cats, bunnies, iguanas, frogs and a horse. When not at work, she buys and sells vintage and antique items and loves to spend time with her husband, family and pets.


Cindy Lawn

Certified Groomer

Cindy has been a part of Shady Spring since October 2007. She started working in pet care as her first job. Cindy has also worked as a part of our nightshift and diets/meds teams. In October 2013 she began working for Petco, where she went through the grooming apprenticeship, while also staying a part time employee here. In May 2017 she returned as a full time groomer here. Grooming continues to be a passion for her and she is constantly growing in her skills.

Cindy is an animal lover and has a small zoo of her own at home. She is owned by two dog and a cat. She also has several hermit crabs and a fish tank. Outside of work she enjoys spending time in nature, taking care of her pets and spending time with her husband.


Derek Huntington

Managing Director

Derek HuntingtonBorn and raised in New York City, Derek moved to Maryland in 1986. He attended college at Howard Community in Columbia, MD in pursuit of a degree in Music Education. He began working in catering at Produce Galore in Columbia for 5 years. In 1994, he came to Shady Spring Kennels and started as a driver and working the evening shift. During this time, he also started showing Dalmatians in confirmation after he adopted his first dog, “Sterling”, from the breeder/owner of Shady Spring Kennels. Sterling finished his championship in late 1995. Derek worked his way up and has worked in every department learning how everything operates. In 2001, he became active in pet and animal relocation. He began attending the IPATA (www.ipata.com) conferences every year to learn about the trade. He assists clients with relocating their pets when they travel either for work or to move permanently. As a result of these two positions he has met some amazing people and pets and looks forward to expanding the pet relocation department for Shady Spring Kennels.


Terri Shumaker

Client Services Manager/ Social Media Coordinator

Terri ShumakerTerri was born in Baltimore County and raised in Carroll County and a bit in Howard County. Terri graduated from Centennial High School in 1988. She then went to Villa Julie College and received her AA in business. During high school and college she worked at Produce Galore in Columbia as catering manager and remained there for 13 years. After leaving Produce Galore she decided to stop working to be a mom full time to her two children, her joys. In 2000, she decided to rejoin the working world and was invited to be part of Shady Spring working the evening shift. Once her children began school full time she began working in client services answering phones, taking reservations and working in several departments. She lives in Glenwood, MD with her dogs “Smidge”, a Pomeranian and “Cuda”, a Rottweiler. Smidge can be seen everyday at the kennel as our Meet and Greet department and does a great job!


Renee Seek

K-9 Obedience and Behavior Trainer

Renee was born and raised just outside of College Park, MD. She graduated from Elizabeth Seton High School in 1990. She moved out to Howard County in 2005 where she lives with her husband, kids, and dogs. Before coming to Shady Spring Pet Retreat, she volunteered with a Howard County based dog rescue for two years as an adoption counselor, adoption coordinator, and then lead trainer and held a spot on the Board of Directors.

Renee has been a force-free, fear-free trainer since she began her Animal Behavior and Training internship in 2015. She started her own successful positive dog training business in 2016. She has a natural talent when it comes to working with dogs. She is kind, compassionate, and loves bringing joy into the lives of pets and people through the art of positive training. When not working with her personal clients or with Shady Spring Pet Retreat, Renee enjoys spending time with her husband, four kids, and her grandson. The family has a Shiba Inu, an Aussie/Border Collie mix, and a Lab/Hound mix. Renee tests out her own training methods with them, and teaches her family how to work with the dogs. She is passing her love of animals and training skills on to a new generation because of her unique ability to build understanding between animals and the people who care for them. Renee is a supporting member of the IAABC and Pet Professional Guild.



Ron Ward

Chief Transportation Coordinator / Van Driver

Ron was born and raised in Montgomery County Maryland. He went to Shepherd College and has a degree in Marketing. For over 20 years, Ron has been breeding and showing Great Pyrenees and Siberian Huskies. He also spent eight years in the pet food business, developing better dog food blends and marketing them. Ron came to the Shady Spring family in 2014 as a van driver and became our Transportation Coordinator in 2015. Ron has always enjoyed being around dogs and couldn’t imagine life without them. Next time your see Ron at one of the veterinary clinics or at Shady Spring, please say “hello”!


Todd Day and Mike Clift

Maintenance Staff