Return to Home Page Press Release Return to Press Releases Main Page Petsworth Business Management Contact: Stephen, Webmaster findagroomer@earthlink.net Release Date: August 26, 1999 You’re invited to attend the "A Day in a Pet Grooming School" pet photography exhibit by Elena Fava Emerson in a gallery at the PetGroomer.com Career Center on the Internet Unique pet photography exhibit portrays the passion of thousands of people annually departing mainstream employment to work with pets Petopia.com to sponsor PetGroomer.com’s unique pet photography exhibit on Internet Sonora, California: You’re invited to attend "A Day in a Pet Grooming School," an exhibit of unique pet photography by Elena Fava Emerson on the Internet at PetGroomer.com Career Center (www.petgroomer.com). Since 1997 over 125,000 new career seekers and groomers have visited PetGroomer.com for career guidance, and that makes PetGroomer.com a perfect venue for the exhibit. It premieres August 26, 1999 and runs through September 30, 2000. Visitors can tour the exhibit with or without multimedia background music. Commentary by Stephen, Webmaster, accompanies each photograph and provides viewers with rare insights into the world of pet grooming. On assignment to photograph a vocational school in progress, photographer Elena Fava Emerson of San Francisco, CA selected Madeline’s Institute of Pet Grooming. Elena describes herself as "a free-lance photojournalist, NPPA member, born in Italy, started photography in Milan, loves travelling and photojournalism documentary photography." Unlike traditional groomer photography displaying award-winning groomers with trophies and well-groomed pets, Elena’s work uniquely captures the intensity of students facing realistic challenges to groom pets of all sizes, ages, breeds or mixed breed variations. Her work communicates the profound emotions that both students and professional groomers share for the pets they groom every work day. Millions of pet owners use grooming services nationwide, and Elena’s work may inspire many more to enter the industry. In the 1990’s the grooming industry has seen a dramatic increase in the number of career seekers enrolling in pet grooming schools. Students are literally entering the industry from all walks of life and work backgrounds. Michelle Higbee, Director of Madeline’s Institute of Pet Grooming in Santa Clara, California shared, "We’ve been a noted pet salon since 1961, but in less than 3 years as a vocational school of grooming most of our students have been one-time bankers, accountants, salespersons, managers, military, high tech positions, secretaries, flight attendants and even a Sheriff. They are both male and female, and ages range from 20’s to 50’s. Their common bond is a passion to work with pets. The decades old chronic shortage of skilled groomers persists, and jobs are available nationwide. According to pet industry market studies, in the next decade more U.S. households will become pet owners, but more important, many of today’s pet owners will actually own more pets. As a result the current U.S. dog and cat population, about 117 million, will significantly increase, and that means a relative increase the pet owner demand for professional pet services, like grooming." Stephen Mart, Webmaster for PetGroomer.com, shares, "As soon as I saw Elena’s photographs I knew they had to go public. There’s so much heart and soul in this exhibit. I was very moved by the unique story they tell about millions of pets groomed each year in the U.S., and people that commit their careers to groom pets. The contributions of professional grooming been overlooked for too long. Millions of families rely on groomers to care for their pets. Professional grooming isn’t "spoiling" pets. Helping pets to be not just attractive but healthy through cleanliness contributes to the welfare of every community. I’m pleased so many people are enrolling in grooming schools." Petopia.com (www.petopia.com), a new major pet-oriented website, is the corporate sponsor of the photography exhibit. Petopia.com offers fellow-animal lovers everything from expert advice and near-obsessive pet loving opinion to a full range of food, care products, toys and enthusiast materials. PetGroomer.com is planning two more pet photography exhibits, "A Day at a Pet Grooming Competition." for the year 2000. Media professionals may call Petsworth Business Management for black and white photographs from the exhibit at 800-556-5131, or visit http://www.petgroomer.com/Exhibit/press-photos.htm. #### Click here to visit exhibit.