Janice McConnell is Stride’s co-owner and veterinarian. She grew up in Arizona where she  stayed through completion of her undergraduate studies in Ecology. At that time, she left the  desert for the mountains of Montana to begin work on her master’s degree in Ecology. After  obtaining her master’s and spending a few years working in fire ecology, she decided to pursue  a long-time dream of veterinary school. She obtained her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM)  in 2003 from Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.  

Janice found an initial passion in emergency medicine; after veterinary school, she completed  an internship dedicated to emergency medicine and then worked as an emergency veterinarian  for 13 years.  

Sparked by a strong interest in pain management and opportunities to vastly improve the  quality of life for aging and injured pets, Janice shifted her career focus to the field of physical  rehabilitation. She obtained certification in Veterinary Medical Acupuncture (cVMA) in 2014,  and became a Certified Canine Rehabilitation Therapist (CCRT) in early 2016. She operated her  own mobile rehabilitation and acupuncture business in Denver, Colorado before returning to  Bend in 2017 to join Kristin in establishing Stride.  

Janice finds immense satisfaction in helping pets live more comfortable, active lives and  providing pet owners with guidance and education. She is inspired daily by the Stride team, all  of whom are genuinely dedicated to offering respectful and compassionate care to our amazing  patients and clients.  

Outside of work, Janice is an avid hiker, and enjoys exploring Oregon’s beautiful outdoors  through backpacking, snowshoeing, and paddleboarding. She lives in Bend with her husband,  two sons, a mutt (Arlo, aka trail buddy), a mini American Shepherd (Rogue), a cat (HiDeHo), and  a crested gecko (Pomegranate).

Kristin began her career in canine physical rehabilitation in 2008, after completing credentialing through the Canine Rehab Institute. In 2014 she attained her certification in canine fitness through FitPaws and University of Tennessee’s certification program. 

While she has had dogs for her entire adult life, it was actually horses that brought her into the veterinary field. As a new horse owner in the early 1990’s, Kristin became interested in animal health and pursued a position as a receptionist in a mixed animal practice here in Bend, Oregon. She quickly transferred into veterinary assistant work and then became certified in veterinary technology after passing the national boards in 2002. Once certified as a veterinary technician Kristin enjoyed working in mixed animal, equine and small animal general practice, eventually landing in small animal specialty practice, where she finally discovered canine rehabilitation.Kristin also has a strong interest in canine behavior and positive reinforcement dog training.

When not working Kristin enjoys spending time with her partner, Ron and his cat Buster and also shares life adventures with her three dogs, Firefly, Titan and Nova. She actively competes in dog agility and canine scent work. Other hobbies include camping, baking, photography, hiking and kayaking when she has time!!

Rachelle graduated from the Veterinary Technician Program at Madison Area Technical College in 2003. Since then, she’s worked in small animal general practice, mixed animal general practice, and small animal emergency medicine. Her interest in rehabilitation and fitness work developed during her time working in veterinary emergency practice, when she agreed to foster an injured stray who required orthopedic surgery.

She joined the team at Stride in November 2020. Rachelle has a strong interest in animal behavior, training, fear free handling, senior and geriatric fitness. Rachelle has three dogs; Australian shepherds Misha and Rowena, and border collie/whippet mix Kevin Tran, the “foster” who never left.

Rachelle and the dogs live in a little house in Redmond lorded over by a Machiavellian cat named Meg. Rachelle enjoys hiking with her dogs, dabbling in a variety of dog training disciplines, reading, and writing fiction. As evidenced by the names she chooses for her dogs, she has an affinity for the T.V. show Supernatural, and more often than not has an episode playing in the the background.

Talie Manna, originally from Vermont and now a Bend resident since 2019, became certified in veterinary technology in 2016 after completing the educational requirements at Vermont Tech School.

She has enjoyed working in mixed animal general practice as well as small animal referral practice here in Bend.  Employment as a surgery technician for much of her career resulted in an keen interest in physical rehabilitation and she joined the Stride team in 2023.

While Talie loves working with her dog patients, she really wishes more cats would take advantage of physical rehabilitation. When she is not working, she enjoys mountain biking and snowboarding with her husband and can often be found curled up reading with her two cats Kitty and Butters.

Samantha moved from the East Coast of the United States to Central Oregon in 2016 in hopes of new experiences and to see what the Pacific Northwest is all about. What was going to be a temporary move, turned into an unexpected home and fondness for life in the high desert.

Samantha joined Stride in 2021, taking a position as a client services representative. A previous client, she learned the ins and outs of physical rehabilitation with her own dog, Dobby, a few years before joining the team. With previous experience in hospitality, education, and animal welfare, she is well equipped to support our clients, patients and staff.

When not at work, Samantha and her dog can be found running, hiking, or playing volleyball throughout Central Oregon.