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The
Foundation of Vocational Licensing - A Fiduciary Relationship
Statement
Madeline
Bright Ogle is not only the President of the company that owns
PetGroomer.com, but also the author of the world's #1 pet grooming
business management manual, From Problems
to Profits-The Madson Management System for Pet Grooming
Businesses. Besides founding one of the world's largest pet
grooming businesses, in 1967 she co-chaired the United Dog
Groomers of California. It was their intent to obtain state
licensing for pet groomers in California.
They were successful in
getting Bill AB220 into the California State Legislature that
year. It was a struggle, and the passage of a Bill takes
substantial lobbying effort. Pressing problems of society often
force members of the legislature to shelve Bills, and that
happened again for AB 220, but it did set a precedent. It was a
valiant effort lead during the troubled times of the Viet Nam War,
and the war likewise overshadowed many other Assembly Bills year
after year. Lessons learned include that even today it is going to
take far more than pet groomers saying, "We want to be
vocationally licensed now." It will take intense lobbying and
money.
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Was
their effort in vain? Over three decades later most the original
members had become far better business people, and major
state-of-the-art salons such as Madeline's Pet Grooming Salon,
Santa Clara, California show that clearly. Many still own salons
established over 30 years and they are prosperous. Perhaps it
comes from the lessons they learned seeking professional
licensing. When Maddie wrote From
Problems to Profits to help the professional advancement of the
pet grooming industry, and to encourage more prosperity for its
members, she started by laying a foundation for true professional
recognition, i.e. state licensing.
Maddie
and Find A Groomer, Inc. achieved many milestones by writing and
publishing From Problems to Profits, but none was more important
than Maddie's Statement of Fiduciary Relationship. Such a
statement is an absolute requirement for any and all licensed
professions. It sets the stage for the development for the
professional and their client. In pet grooming, it would be the
pet grooming business owner and the pet owner. Here for you to
read is Maddie's Statement of Fiduciary of Relationship excerpted
from, From Problems to Profits.
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"To have the
privilege of being recognized as a professional requires
accepting the responsibilities of a professional. Your
relationship legally with the client is a 'fiduciary
relationship.' This means that the client places their
'faith and trust' in you as one accepting the
responsibility for the health, safety, and welfare of
their pet. This continues for as long as they are in your
care and services. For instance, they have the right to be
informed of any procedures used in the grooming their pet.
They have the right to make an 'informed decision'
regarding any grooming service entailing potential hazards
of which they might not reasonably be aware. This
obligates you to inform them of the consequences to their
pet's health, safety, and welfare, of any services you
perform. You must inform them of anything that might
affect their decision regarding acceptance of that
service. You are not required to be a veterinarian. Yet,
you must inform the client of any health concerns you
discover while grooming their pet, of which you might be
reasonably aware."
Madeline
Bright Ogle, From Problems to Profits
Copyright 1989, All Rights Reserved.
In
accordance with your request, I have reviewed the language
regarding the fiduciary relationship of pet groomers. The
statements made are legally correct and written in a clear
manner. It should provide adequate guidance and warning to
pet care providers of their legal responsibilities.
William H.
Brown, Esq., May 10, 1988 |
How many
grooming business owners have a system whereby they disclose
to pet owners all of the information about their grooming
practices to pet owners in order for the pet owner to make
an "informed decision" about whether to use the
groomer's services or not. Few, very few. Most groomers
today don't even have a handout or brochure with the
required information. We have a long way to go as an
industry in order to be vocationally certified, as this is
just one issue of many where we lack the required standards
of operation of licensed professionals.
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