I'd like to introduce Freeway the Bichon. At the time I groomed him he was about 18 months old. Our shop does pickup and delivery so I was not able to meet his owner. That was unfortunate as there was a good bit of education that needed to be shared. Freeway had never been groomed in his life. When I first saw him I was apprehensive to say the least. I decided that I had to try at the least to groom him. He's not the first dog who's come to me matted like this but he was "cage brave" and having never been groomed before gave me pause. Once removed from his cage he became a sweet and loving dog, a groomer's dream come true. I often sit in awe when I see a dog in this condition and wonder why they can be so happy and loving regardless of the condition they're in. With modern conditioners, shampoos and tools like a force dryer, I was able to salvage quite a bit of the coat. As you can see by the blurry tail wagging he was extremely happy with his groom. I'm very sad to say that I have never seen Freeway again. I did follow-up calls but the phone was disconnected. As many of you know from your grooming experiences, dogs like Freeway leave use wondering for the rest of our lives.

Groomer: Darthea Naylor
Location: Rainbow Grooming Spa, Philadelphia, PA