After 10 years of being a stay at home mom and graduating with a marketing degree in 2009 I was having a hard time finding a job, and I started working as a bather for a corporate salon while looking for something in Marketing. Ive had dogs all of my life, and always thought grooming was amazing, but didn't know how to become a groomer. After a couple months of bathing I was offered a promotion to become a groomer, and they sent me to their academy where I learned the basics. I worked there for 4 years, but I learned that they were more concerned with rules, money and liability than they were the actual care of the dog and quality of the groom.

When I left corporate I worked for several different small shops and a vet office, but there was always something that didn't line up with either my beliefs or the way I thought things should work. I realized maybe I just can't work for other people!? I had also been volunteering for a local puppymill rescue during this time and while other groomers in the industry were teaching me new skills and techniques for better grooming, I was learning more emotional techniques from working with the dogs that no one else could/would handle. 

Over the years I learned a few things other than just perfecting my grooming skills:

- dogs were more frightened from being in cages all day. 

- a dog looks 100% better from being dried by hand than in a kennel dryer.

-I would rather take the time to earn trust and figure out any alternative I can to get a dog groomed than to send it to the vet to be sedated. 

-Most of the time a "bad" dog is just really a scared dog who is reacting with fight or flight, and if a groomer takes the time to help the dog through it rather than forcing the dog through it, you will gain the trust of the dog and a loyal customer for a lifetime.

So I kept all this in mind when I decided to start my own business in 2014. We are a free roam facility that almost never sends a dog home because of difficulty. We hand dry almost every dog, and do everything humanely possible to save the coat. We hardly ever have to use muzzles, and choose the e-collar for our protection if needed. We don't charge excessive fees for things that the owner cannot control. We are in it for the dog! 

I did not start this business with the plan to have employees. I thought it was just a small business where I can take care of my own clients on my own. I started with maybe 15 dogs a week. But as word-of-mouth went to work, and referrals came in, I quickly became overwhelmed and had to eventually hire help starting in 2020. We are now moving into our forth building, each one bigger than the last. We now have 6 groomers and 4 bathers, and groom about 180 a week! I'm still learning on how to be a great "boss", but I do know that we are all great groomers, and we all put the dog's well-being as our top priority, while also maintaining excellent customer service, beautiful grooms, and prices as low as possible,