OUR STORY.

Ruff Translating was originally founded in 2015 by Ejay on his 50 acre working livestock farm, as a low stress dog-boarding option as well as in-home private training lessons. In 2020, Ruff Translating made its debut in Boston with the opening of our first storefront. In 2024, we went through yet another evolution by renovating and opening our brand new training facility to larger location close our original shop to accommodate increasing demand for our program to center on service dogs with offerings for pet dog clients who are interested in that level of performance. We are a farm-grown company that grew up into urban focused dog training facility!
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We couldn't be happier to have planted new roots in Boston and love helping our community realize their dog's city life potential. From basic training, to new adoptions, to custom service dog training: we hope to offer a unique experience that helps you fall in love with training like we did. 

EJAY EISEN Founder, Director


Ejay Eisen is a seasoned dog professional with 20 years experience in the field. He’s worked at kennels, training facilities, rescue organizations, dog walking companies, doggie daycares, and a pet hospice provider. He has also trained service dogs for military veterans as well as owned and operated a high-end dog boarding and training facility in New York State. 

Throughout his early career, Ejay has focused on rehabilitation with dogs dealing with often severe behavioral issues, including aggression and anxiety. He is recognized as an exceptional dog trainer by both his clients and colleagues. In fact, he has clients who have continued working with him as their primary trainer using telecommunications, as Ejay’s career led him to explore opportunities in three different states across the country. 

Ejay’s innovative approach to training focuses on the relationship between an owner and their dog. However, where Ejay differs is his focus on both dog cognition centered approach, and his dedication to training each dog as an individual within their unique environment- your home/lifestyle/family! Ejay likes to adapt his training programs to each client on an individual basis and firmly believes everything he teaches should be accessible to his client's environment and needs. In terms of what services we recommend, everything is individualized to both the dog, and the person at the end of the leash. 

As of 2021, Ejay is focusing on RT's quickly growing service dog program, while providing support to his existing behavior modification clients. As a queer disabled service dog handler himself, Ejay is now focusing on training the highest performing service dogs possible.

Recent Publications:
Service Dogs in the Era of MAHA
G.L.A.D.: The Easy Steps for When You See a Service Dog
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Michelle Casey 
​Trainer, General Behavior and Service Dog

Michelle joined the staff of Ruff Translating in the early summer of 2021 and has proven to be an incredible asset to the training team. She comes with years of experience as a licensed social worker, and brings her incredible people skills along with her training knowledge. As of May 2022 she has finished up her apprenticeship and began accepting private clients! She has proven time and again she can teach any dog that crosses her path. Her rescue pup Harvey brought her to RT initially, and together they have achieved multiple trick titles. Michelle specializes in Service Dog Training but welcomes all pups who want to learn into her lessons. She is patient, creative, enthusiastic and loves to teach people how to enjoy life with their dogs through training. ​

Kimberly Eisen Director of Operations

Ejay and Kim have run multiple businesses together and also have spent years on collaborative projects within their community. As RT has grown, the Eisen's made the move to bring on Kim based on her incredible ability to balance exceptional client service with running the daily operations. Kim brings a master's degree in social work to the table, and has spent her career working specifically in organizational and membership development. That skill set has brought RT's scheduling and client care to the next level. She is also well known for giving ample snuggles and occasional treats when the trainers aren't looking. 

Kat Dooman Trainer, Group Classes/Day Program

 Kat's story began with RT back in 2022 when she adopted her fluffy sidekick and service dog, golden retriever, Apollo. After falling in love with training and disability justice work during her service dog program at Ruff Translating, Kat worked with us first as an intern, then as an apprentice before starting to teach group classes in 2025. Kat is steady, caring, gentle and committed to all of Ruff Translating's goals. Her training style brings a balance of playfulness and dedication to reliability that makes her work with both pets and service dogs really shine. She also brings another service dog handler perspective to our team that is valuable to all of our programming.