Pet Pizazz

I’ve been a puppet, a pauper, a pirate, a poet, a pawn and a queen …I do NOT lead a boring life!

I was introduced to Sallie through a mutual friend because who besides a former groomer who does websites should team up with the best shop in the Conway area?  I adore Sallie and the other people at Pet Pizazz and they let me share in a piece of what I had to give up when I retired on disability 5 years ago. 

I was born with a passion for animals, from a very early age I could *understand* their ways and behaviors.  I became the local dog walker and caretaker between the ages of 5 and 7.  I was fearles but never careless!  The most unapproachable dogs in the neighborhood would sit quietly at my feet.

I didn’t get into grooming until my late twenties and it was by accident.  A friend of a friend owned a grooming shop and was looking for a bather.  What the hey, just my luck!  The owner appreciated and used my talents with unmanageable and difficult dogs and cats.  I honed my skills with prepping coats and bathing, becoming the bather most in demand in the Buffalo, NY area.  The owner started teaching me to scissor feet, faces and tails to speed up progress.  We did from 12-15 dogs per day and were usually done by 4 pm.  In time I progressed to rough cuts.  I apprenticed for 3 years, until I realized she was never going to pay me what I was worth.  She figured I would pay thousands to go to grooming school, so I should work for pennies until it was paid.  Unfortunately we parted company.

I never got back into grooming until about 8 years later, in Elmira, NY.  I learned a vet wanted to try to restore his grooming department and was willing to give me a chance.  I jumped at it, I remembered how great I felt doing that kind of job.  I used all my marketing and advertising skills to develope a brand new niche for myself.  After 2 years I decided to go out on my own.  The vet decided not to replace me and let me keep all my files.

In 1992 Fancy Pets was born. (don’t look for my site, after 10 years I finally let the website go this year.  You can read alot of excerpts here at Pet Pizazz)  I found a really super location in town, but Elmira is a small city, very poor and 6 other groomers opened shop the same year.  Competition was fierce!  I decided I had to be different.  I’ve been called a prima donna, a diva and a cowgirl.  So be it, it got me noticed!  I based my business on educating my customers in coat care, behavior and grooming all the dogs in the area who had been *kicked out* of all the other shops in the area.

I made friends with many of the big officials in the city and over time was invited to do news spots on tv and newspaper articles.  I kept very strict ethics.  I would never diagnose veterinary problems, but I would bring things to your attention to be examined.  I would never advise anything unless I could support the facts with an authority or show you personally.  I would not exactly charge for advice or consultations in areas I am not certified in, but I would tack on a few bucks for extra time spent.  Within a few years all 6 of the new groomers were out of business as well as a couple of long established businesses.  Fancy Pets thrived until multiple sclerosis forced me to retire in 2005.