Wow! Dog grooming has changed my life.
The world of pet grooming is such an overlooked industry. I mean, really, grooming is world-wide. The United States, Asia, Spain, New Zealand, the list really does go on. But out of the careers that I could've gotten myself into, pet grooming stole my heart. I’ve tried to be a lawyer, I wanted to even be a bartender, I even considered acting at one point. My family always said I was a character. In all reality those careers really just weren’t for me. There was something so special about just creating such pieces of art on furry animals. I’ve tried so many other fields, nothing really fits the way grooming has fit my life.
How it all started...
I was 16 years old, and I just got my first workers permit. My first real job was at a sneaker store. I’ll never forget the day a really not nice woman told me to put the shoes on her feet. That day I walked out and quit. I went home and I told my mother this is not for me, I would rather work with animals. Now at the time I think I was being a little sarcastic, but my mother really did get me a job at a local pet store. She was very good friends with the store manager, Steve was his name. He was such an awesome guy. Fast forward I went in for my interview and I nailed it. I couldn’t start in the salon right away, they put me on the register and again I said I don’t want to deal with people. After a few weeks of constant nagging, they finally put me in a salon. I was finally home where I belong. I remember getting a lot of hairy request dogs, Saint Bernards, Golden Retrievers, Border Collies. Those fuzzy feet used to drive me nuts! One day I just had enough and I decided to grab a pair of my coworkers scissors and I started trimming dogs. The minute I picked up those scissors and they touched that fur I knew that this was it. This was my passion finally revealing itself to me and I never looked back.
My beautiful journey with scissors and dogs.
The amount of souls that I have crossed paths with just from dog grooming alone is insane. People my age, some older than me, 7000 plus miles away from me, or on the complete opposite side of the world. I just get to meet really awesome people and I love it! Now don’t get me wrong you have a few people who screws aren’t too tight, but what kind of career would this be without a little bit of excitement? I have shared laughs, some cries, some angry moments with many people. Most being my clients, some being fellow pet stylists. It’s just been a really awesome platform to develop such beautiful connections.
My fur-babies!
What would I do without my fur babies?? Probably be in the closet locked away somewhere. Really, I don’t know what I would do without them. They are everything that I know, they are everything that I love. Even the ones that like pooping on the table in the middle of the grooming process. But that’s the beauty of all of this, no grooming is not going to be perfect. It won’t always be easy, but it definitely is always fulfilling. At least for me. One thing that’s always stood out about me is my love for animals. They are an example of unconditional love. When I am going through a heartbreak, or a loss, or even just a difficult day they always put a smile on my face. They know when to love me, and it’s all the time. Except when I’m blow drying them, some of my clients just hate the blow drying process. Hehe, that doesn’t matter, we’re going to get back on track the whole point is that I’m complete with them. I think anyone with a love for animals, and the passion for art can go so far in this career. So if you don’t know what your passion is yet I encourage you to try pet grooming out, you never know, it may change your world the same way that it changed mine.
Ashley Ann
Author