Dr. Pachel received his veterinary degree from the University of MN in 2002 and worked as a general practitioner for two years in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area prior to the start of his behavior residency program. He operated a house-call behavior practice in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area until 2010 and became board certified by the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists in 2010. He spent 3.5 years of his residency period under the mentorship of Jacqui Neilson, DVM, DACVB at the Animal Behavior Clinic in Portland, OR before purchasing the practice from her in 2011.

As the owner and primary clinician for the Animal Behavior Clinic, he brings an approach to behavioral therapy which combines learning theory, medical training, and experience along with compassion and effective communication to create a balanced treatment plan that is tailored to the individual patient’s needs. Dr. Pachel’s methodology emphasizes the importance of the human animal bond and the role that companion animals play in the lives of their families.

Outside of direct patient care, Dr. Pachel lectures regularly throughout the US and Canada, and has taught undergraduate and professional courses in veterinary behavior at the University of MN and at the Virginia Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine. He has published research on feline water consumption preferences, wrote a book chapter on Intercat Aggression for the May 2014 issue of Veterinary Clinics of North America: Small Animal Practice, and is co-author of a book chapter on Pet Selection for Animal Assisted Therapy.

In his spare time away from the office, Dr. Pachel enjoys distance running, strength training, yoga, and weekend RV excursions. He is a supporter of beer festivals, wineries, and the Portland food scene, and is always looking for new recommendations for places to visit. He shares his home with his partner of 16 years (who happens to be a veterinarian as well) and a Bull / Rat Terrier cross named Corneliuz.

Dr. Pankratz graduated with her veterinary degree from the University of Wisconsin – Madison in 2014 and pursued a small animal rotating internship in New York. She completed her behavioral medicine residency program at North Carolina State University and became board certified by the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists in 2018. She stayed on at NC State for her fellowship and as a clinical instructor before joining the Animal Behavior Clinic in Portland, OR in 2019.

While striving to understand inter-pet conflict within her home, Dr. Pankratz became passionate about veterinary behavior. She aspires to help others rebuild their human-animal bonds. She is most interested in educating others to better understand and communicate with their beloved pets.

She is an adjunct professor at NC State College of Veterinary Medicine and teaches veterinary behavior to the public, veterinary students, and fellow veterinarians. For her research on the use of behavioral medication to improve the welfare of cats, she was awarded the RK Anderson ACVB Resident Award and JFMS Resident Best Paper Award.

Dr. Pankratz spends her free time watching movies, cooking, and learning more about Japanese language and culture. She shares her home with her snuggly blind cat, Kaeto. Together, they enjoy communicating with each other through training new ‘tricks’, including teaching Kaeto to turn off the light.

Dr. Valli has had a long-standing passion for learning about and applying behavioral methods and training to different species, including dogs, cats, horses, parrots and even South American Pacas. While working on her PhD, she became skilled at distinguishing normal versus abnormal behavior in domesticated and exotic pets, as well as wildlife.

After her earning her PhD, she decided that she could help the animals most at risk by studying veterinary medicine and combining it with her love for behavior. She graduated from the University of GA College of Veterinary Medicine in 2006, and moved to Portland. She was in general practice until 2009, at which point she founded Synergy Veterinary Behavior in collaboration with Scott Raymond, CPDT-KA.

In addition to consulting with pet owners in person and via telemedicine, Dr. Valli is sought after to consult on behavior cases directly with veterinarians. She is also invited to present on topics such as decreasing patient fear in the clinic, psychopharmacology, and behavior problems at local, regional and national veterinary meetings. Dr. Valli is Fear Free Certified (Level 3).

Dr. Valli completed her veterinary behavior residency under the mentorship of Dr. Kenneth Martin, DVM, DACVB, and became a Veterinary Behaviorist in November of 2020. She is committed to providing the best veterinary behavior care for her patients as a Board Certified Veterinary Behaviorist.

Dr. Nicole earned both her undergraduate (BS Zoology & BA Spanish) and veterinary degrees from Washington State University. She spent a summer working with grizzly bears at the WSU Bear Center and learned how powerful positive reinforcement could be. These 400 pound animals were trained to hold out a paw for a blood draw to be rewarded with apples and honey water. The bears, biologists, and veterinarians all looked forward to these interactions, and it was wonderful to see how much could be accomplished with relative ease.

Through working with her own dog’s behavioral issues, she has developed a soft spot for fearful and aggressive animals and for the people who care for them. She has a special interest in helping vetphobic animals and has completed the Karen Pryor Academy course on Better Veterinary Visits in addition to her Fear Free certification. She uses the strategies from these courses combined with her own experience and medical knowledge to help fearful pets receive the care they need. In her free time, Dr. Nicole enjoys trail running, mountain biking, attending Portland Thorns games and obsessing over all things Doctor Who.

Dr. Krug grew up in Parker, CO and attended Colorado State University for both her undergraduate studies as well as veterinary school. She graduated with her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree in 2011 and moved to Seattle for a 1-year small animal medicine and surgery rotating internship at the Veterinary Specialty Center of Seattle. Following her internship, she stayed on as an emergency and critical care staff doctor.

Dr. Krug’s interest in behavior medicine stems mostly from her Australian Shepherd Sori, who presented some behavior hurdles including agility training and veterinary visits. Dr. Krug started teaching cooperative veterinary care to ease stress and anxiety for Sori. One day she hopes all families will teach cooperative veterinary care to their pets as commonly as they teach sit and down. Dr. Krug is also passionate about teaching veterinary professionals about how to prevent, recognize, and treat anxiety and fear in their patients. She believes behavioral health in all animals is vital to their overall health and well-being.

Dr. Krug shares her home with her two Australian Shepherds, Ode and Sori. They love exploring the outdoors, especially on rainy, gloomy days. She enjoys training her dogs and competes with both dogs in barn hunt and with Sori in agility. Dr. Krug is excited to experience all the sour beers Portland has to offer as well as the amazing food.