The main reason why I wanted to become a professional dog groomer was to help dogs like "Lucy." About 1 out of 20 dogs that I groom makes me want to take them home so they never end up in terrible condition again. Lucy is a 4 year old Cocker Spaniel that had not been groomed or bathed for at least a year according to her owner. She could barely walk because her nails were so overgrown. She didn't have much wag left in her tail. She looked at me with very sad eyes as to say "Please help me!"

Lucy was covered with mats and her ears were one big thick mat. Her coat had no luster to it at all and underneath it was full of grease and grime. She smelled so bad from not being bathed and I discovered very bad ear infections. I spent about 4 hrs. in all grooming Lucy and through it all she was wonderful and loved the attention. I know that removing her coat didn't take a lot of artistic talent, but it did take a lot of patience on both Lucy's  and my part. Out of all the grooms I've done this one touched me the most. Lucy was smiling the whole time and when finished she had the wag in her tail back!

Her owner was in tears because she didn't even recognize her own dog. She apologized to both Lucy and me for letting Lucy get into this terrible condition and promised it wouldn't happen again. It's days like these that make up for all of the others.

Groomer: Jan Lewis
Location: Pet Planet, Graham, WA