Melissa Robinson

• Director of Training
• Certified Dog Trainer
• Pet CPR & First Aid Certified
• AKC Canine Good Citizen Evaluator

Melissa Robinson has been training dog for over 8 years and has always had a passion for animals, especially dogs. Melissa is an active dog mom to Max, a Yorkie/Maltese mix (16 years old), Morgan, a Schnauzer/Poodle mix (13 years old), Riley, a German Shepherd Dog (9 years old), and Ringo, a Dutch Sheperd/Belgian Malinois Mix (4 years old). Riley is a service dog, trained in PTSD with Deep Pressure Therapy and Mobility Support. Riley is also a semi retired Therapy Dog. Ringo is trained for search and recovery. Max and Morgan are happy to live their best life at home.

Melissa attended the University of MN, Crookston in pursuit of an Equine Business Management degree with an emphasis in Animal Nutrition and Behavior. After college she moved back to Southern MN and worked in the equine world for 20+ years. During that time Melissa trained dogs as a hobby for friends and family, realizing that as much as she liked horses, dogs were her true passion. Melissa then pursued a degree in Dog Training and Behavior through the Animal Behavior College. Melissa is always furthering her education by attending various training seminars and clinics. Melissa has attended “Remote Collar Education Ecademy” with Robin MacFarlane and “Introduction to Training Service Dogs with Leslie Horton.

Melissa is certified in Pet First Aid and CPR and is an AKC Canine Good Citizen Evaluator. Melissa enjoys working with dogs and owners and helping them become a well-balance team, whether for sport or just a well-balanced family member.

Currently, Melissa oversees and trains dogs and puppies in our K9 Academy program and teaches our Puppy 1, Basic Obedience, Out & About, Rally, and Canine Good Citizen classes. She also does private lessons in our facility or your home.

Grace Prouty

• Certified Dog Trainer
• AKC Canine Good Citizen Evaluator
• AKC Trick Dog Evaluator
• Pet CPR & First Aid Certified

Growing up around farm animals, Grace’s passion for animals began at a very young age. From chickens to horses, she worked with animals of all sizes and was convinced she could train them all. It wasn’t until 2020 that Grace decided to focus her passion on training dogs.

Since then, Grace has successfully pursued her certification in animal behavior and dog training through Animal Behavior College. Along with that Grace has become certified as an AKC Canine Good Citizen Evaluator, AKC Trick Dog Evaluator, and is certified in Pet CPR and First Aid. She has also attended multiple training seminars and workshops including Remote Collar Education Ecademy with Robin MacFarlane and Introduction to Training Service Dogs with Leslie Horton. Grace is always continuing her education through training seminars and additional online classes to stay up to date with the new training techniques and to expand her knowledge.

When at Leashes and Leads, you might have a hard time finding Grace, as she does a lot of running around. Grace helps with our Structured playcare, driving the Barky Bus, planning events, training our on-campus dogs, helping with class, assisting in private lessons, and working with our board and train clients.

Grace currently has three indoor pets, a sassy cat name Trouble, a Bluetick Coonhound mix name Marti, and a rambunctious German Shepherd named Rebel. All three of Grace’s pets were rescued and because of that she spends most of her off time training and working with her newest addition Rebel. Rebel is very fearful of people and new things and so Grace spends countless hours trying to boost Rebel’s confidence and show her that people aren’t that bad. Marti is an older dog that in her eyes can do no wrong. He is the angel of the family and likes to spend his days sunbathing and hunting small game. Along with her inside pets Grace also has two horses, four pekin ducks, and a flock of chickens. Grace loves the outdoors and spends most of her free time hiking, biking, riding her horses, and just basically doing whatever she can outside on her farm.

Don & Stephanie Vaughan

Don and Stephanie are a husband-wife team with over 40 years of combined experience as therapy dog handlers. Their hearts are with the giant breeds - rare mastiffs, in particular. They also focus on rescuing giants in need. Over the years, they have owned a Tosa Ken, also known as a Japanese mastiff; a rescued Saint Bernard; a rescued Great Dane mix; two rescued Neapolitan mastiffs, sometimes referred to as an Italian mastiff (think Fang from Harry Potter); a rescued Dogue de Bordeaux, also known as a French mastiff (think Turner & Hooch); and a rescued Irish Wolfhound. To throw in something a little different, they have had a rescued Olde English Bulldogge. They currently have a rescued Newfoundland, and to go in the other direction, they added an adult French Bulldog in 2025. Don and Stephanie began volunteering in animal-assisted activities with their Japanese mastiff, Majo, in 2002 through Therapy Dogs Inc., now known as Alliance of Therapy Dogs (ATD). Majo’s 9-year career focused on the elderly, with most of her visits in nursing homes. But in 2010, Majo started working at an adult detention center, the beginning of what would turn into a fulfilling new path for Don and Stephanie in the correctional system. Their second certified therapy dog, a rescued Saint Bernard named Gaag, worked for nearly 5 years with ATD, regularly visiting an adult detention center, a juvenile detention center, and hospice patients. Napolean, their Bordeaux, visited for about a year at a number of correctional facilities in the area, including a juvenile detention facility, two area adult detention centers and a federal medical facility. Henry, their Olde English Bulldogge, focused on mental health and addiction counseling. Ila, their Newfoundland, also focusses on mental health and addiction counseling visits. In August 2011, Don became a Tester/Observer with ATD, and in June 2016, he was elected to its Board of Directors. In July 2018, Don was elected ATD Treasurer. In July 2021, Don was elected ATD Vice President. In July 2024, Don was elected ATD President. Nouveau, their French Bulldog and newest addition, is currently in training to ideally become their next certified therapy dog.