Meet the Key Staff

Meet the Owners

Rick and Christi Coffey, Owners/Managers

We want to thank all our customers and staff for making Barkefellers a success!

As longtime residents of the Southside, we are very proud of our facility and staff! The dream began almost two years ago with Rick and Christi traveling across country to visit various upscale pet care facilities. “We are excited to offer such a unique experience to our clients and their pets and hope that our customers enjoy their stay away, knowing their pets are well cared for.”

Our family includes daughter Amanda, son Kyle, son Jordan, and daughter Krista Beth. Our four children attended Center Grove High School and the various colleges of Purdue, Wabash, IUPUI, and IU. Our family is certainly not complete without our two four legged family members, Max, a giant schnauzer and Emma, a miniature schnauzer. Max and Emma are regular day care participants and are always eager to go to work with Dad.

We want to extend an invitation to visit Barkefellers, talk to our staff, and take a facility tour at any time we are open to the public.

Meet Our Key Team Members

Krista Coffey

Krista has been an integral part of Barkefellers since we opened in May of 2009. She is a graduate of Indiana University where she earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Speech Language Pathology, with two minors in Psychology and Human Development Family Sciences.

Krista first became interested in pet care through her experience with her own family pets Emma, a Miniature Schnauzer and Max, a Giant Schnauzer.

“My family is the most important thing to me in my life.  I enjoy spending as much time with them that I can, outside of work. Going out to dinner is definitely our favorite thing to do.  I also love new experiences, to go to shows or sporting events, and shopping!”

“My favorite thing about Barkefellers is the excitement we see in the dogs when they walk through that door.  It is something that cannot be replaced, and always brings a smile to your face.  We have the best customers, and their pets are the reason I love to work here!”

Krista’s attention to detail, along with her warm and caring nature, ensures that every Barkefellers guest feels right at home!

Jordan Coffey

Jordan’s tenure with Barkefellers began before the doors ever opened – as part of the team that turned the former church facility into “The Place for Dogs”!  He is a graduate of IUPUI where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management.

Jordan shares pets Max and Emma with the rest of the Coffey family.

“I grew up with pets all my life, but I have learned so much more about dogs from working at Barkefellers.”

Jordan’s calm, confident manner makes him a favorite friend of both our furry guests and their owners, as he works to make sure they have the best possible experience at Barkefellers.

“My favorite thing about working at Barkefellers is no matter how rough and long your day is you can always count on the dogs to cheer you up!”

Lindsay Dow

Lindsay has been working at Barkefellers since January 2011.  She is from Crown Point, Indiana and followed her husband to Indianapolis when he started working for IMPD. She graduated from Purdue University with a Bachelors Degree in Elementary Education and worked as an RTI Instructor before making the move to Indianapolis. While looking for a job, she found Barkefellers, applied, and the rest is history!

Lindsay loves working the front desk at Barkefellers and truly enjoys coming to work every day.  The biggest perk of the job is being able to bring her American Bulldog, Stanley to work with her.  He loves playing in Day Care so much that he cries on the ride over!

Her favorite things about working at Barkefellers are the staff she works with and the dogs she meets. Being able to 'love' on so many dogs every day is a dream job for her. She loves how personal the staff becomes with these dogs and their families.  It really makes the job a lot of fun!

while Lindsay is not working, she enjoys playing with Stanley, going out to eat, meeting up with friends, scrap-booking, or any outdoor activity. Lindsay and her husband welcomed their first child in August 2012 and are thoroughly enjoying this exciting new chapter in their lives.

"I really think that Barkefellers has hired some of the most kind-hearted people I've ever met! It also helps that they are all animal lovers! I'm honored to work at such a wonderful place and would recommend Barkefellers to anyone who wants to spoil their four-legged babies!"

Lauren Calkins

Lauren has been with Barkefellers since September of 2009.  She is a graduate of Southport High School and plans to attend college to become a Pharmacist.  Her fun-loving spirit and thoughtful nature are appreciated by her co-workers and guests alike!

Lauren’s pet care experience started early; first with the many pets she has had over the years and later as a Volunteer at The Paw Patch Veterinary Clinic.  She has 5 pets – Sasslyn (Doberman Pinscher), Reggie (Bichon Frise), Ruby (coyote/Border Collie mix), Prissy (Labrador/Chow mix) and Alice (cat).

When she’s not working at Barkefellers, Lauren enjoys playing with her dogs, spending time with her family and boyfriend and “trying delicious new restaurants”.

“My favorite things about working at Barkefellers are getting to know the different characteristics of all the different breeds and getting to see the pets having so much fun in day care.”

Cheryl England

Cheryl joined the Barkefellers team in March of 2011 and has been recognized by her co-workers as Employee of the Month.

In addition to a year of study at IUPUI, Cheryl has completed six semesters at Indiana Business College towards a degree in Veterinary Technology.

Cheryl has always owned a pet and been responsible for their care.  She currently has two miniature horses named Cabby and Meeko, and two dogs of her own; Copper, a Coonhound/Lab mix and Sydney Vicious, a Rat Terrier/Shi Tzu mix.  She shares Chucky the beagle, Buddy, and Shiloh with her family too!

When she isn’t busy working at Barkefellers, Cheryl enjoys being outdoors, spending time with her family, friends, and pets, and she’s “always up for a game of soccer”.

“I just love spending time with all of our guests!”

Korey Weber

Korey came to Barkefellers in July of 2011 and has been recognized by his co-workers as Employee of the Month.  He is a graduate of Batesville High School and attended Franklin College.

Korey’s pet care experience started with caring for his own pets.  He is currently owned by a cat named Isabelle and would really like to have a dog.

Away from work, Korey is an avid sports fan.  He enjoys playing Frisbee golf in the summertime and he tries to make it to “as many Cincinnati Reds games as possible”.

“The thing I love about Barkefellers is that it's impossible to have a bad day. I get to play with dogs. How can that ever be a bad day? (And the people are great too!)”

Kyle Lilley

Kyle has been a member of Barkefellers' staff since December of 2010.

He has two Jack Russell Terriers, named Dottie and Vinny.  When he isn't busy working at Barkefellers, Kyle loves playing sports like pickup games of basketball and backyard football. He also enjoys watching and following the NFL.

"My favorite part of working at Barkefellers is just being with the dogs.  It's a big part of my life and I know a lot of the dogs pretty well.  It's great knowing I make a difference in their lives!"

Becca Kehl

Becca joined the Barkefellers staff in November of 2009 and has been recognized by her co-workers  as Employee of the Month.  She is a graduate of National K9 School for Dog Trainers, with Professional Certification in Basic & Advanced Obedience, Behavior Modification, Personal Protection, Utility, Retrieval and Puppy Development.  Becca is currently enrolled in the Veterinary Technician program at Harrison College.

Becca's pet care experience began at age 12 in 4H Obedience Training with her Shetland Sheepdog Laddie, which "sparked her interest in understanding the canine mind".  By the age of 19 she was the Reptile Manager at We Luv Pets.  After graduation from National K9 School for Dog Trainers, Becca worked as a freelance trainer, providing private Obedience and Behavior Modification lessons for 4 years.

Becca has three pets - Mercedes (Black Domestic Cat), Bonny (Grey Tabby Cat) & Odin (Miniature Schnauzer).  When she's not "relaxing with her critters on the couch" or working at Barkefellers, Becca enjoys reading, playing video games, hiking and other outdoor activities.

"My favorite part of working here is making a stay at Barkefellers the best experience possible for our guests."

Becca's love and understanding of dogs shows in everything she does at Barkefellers and explains why all of our furry guests love her so much!

Erin Capossere

Erin joined Barkefellers' staff in September of 2010.  She has earned her GED and is working towards becoming a Veterinarian Assistant through the Penn Foster program.

Before coming to Barkefellers, Erin gained valuable pet care experience through positions with Petsmart and the Steven-Swan Humane Society in New York.

Erin has a German Shepherd name Bowser (who loves to come to Day Care at Barkefellers!), two cats named Benny and Binx, and two rats named Chester and A.J.

Outside of Barkefellers, she loves to spend her time working on computer hardware, painting and going camping.

"My favorite thing about working at Barkefellers is the joy of caring for and loving all the pets who come in - either for day care or boarding - and creating a bond with not only the animals, but with their owners as well."

Courtney Gilliland

Courtney joined Barkefellers' staff in July of 2011.  She is a graduate of Franklin Central High School and is currently studying Animal Science at IUPUI.

Courtney gained much of her pet care experience by fostering and caring for animals in her own home.  She is currently owned (and loved) by a Mastiff mix named Addi Mae.

When she isn't busy caring for pets at Barkefellers, Courtney enjoys boating and skiing and spending time with her family and friends.

"My favorite part of my job at Barkefellers is seeing all of the different personalities all of the pets have.  No matter what kind of mood I come into work with, I always leave smiling!  What can I say? I love what I do!"

Kyle Browning

Kyle joined the Barkefellers team full-time in August of 2012.

He is a graduate of Center Grove High School and attended Lincoln Technical Institute.

Kyle has been around animals all his life. He has shown cattle and cared for over 100 head! He's currently owned by a 3-year-old Boxer named Max and a 1-1/2-year-old Boglen Terrier named Diesel.

In his free time, Kyle enjoys repairing and remodeling homes. You might also see him out and about riding his motorcycle!

"My favorite thing about working at Barkefellers is seeing how all the different animals react with one another and the love and attention they are getting from all of us at Barkefellers."

Lisa Schultz

Lisa has been with Barkefellers since April of 2009 in one capacity or another; from part-time Front Desk Attendant to Office Manager and now working to spread the word about Barkefellers through marketing, advertising and social media.

Lisa is a graduate of Purdue University with a Bachelor of Arts in Interior Design.  Her experience includes 3 years as Marketing Manager for a software firm and over 16 years as a design & marketing consultant.

She is a lifelong animal-lover and is currently owned by a one year old cat named Romeo and a six year old German Shepherd/Border Collie mix named Stella.  In addition to spending time with her family & pets, Lisa enjoys camping, boating, gardening and travel adventures with her husband.

“My favorite thing about working with Barkefellers is the great friends I’ve met – dogs, cats, pet-parents and co-workers. It makes me happy to be a part of such a special place – where dogs can enjoy being dogs and their people don’t need to worry when they have to be apart.”