2003 Essay Contest Entry Archive

Life of a Groomer

For as long as I can remember, I loved three things in life - one was traveling the other writing and the last was animals. The first was a fantasy I had where I could and would travel the world with no restrictions (i.e. money) and at the same time, I could never pass a pet store or a shelter without a desire to go inside, pet all the sweet animals and  wish I could take them all home with me.

I worked on cruise ships, I worked in five star hotels and I worked on airlines. I traveled the world as I had dreamed - just as I had dreamed. When a pet arrived at the airport as a passenger, I paid special attention to it - it would be frightened at its unfamiliar, noisy, crazy and wildly fast paced surroundings - I ensured the pet arrived at the aircraft safely - and I thought - someday I would love a job where I worked with pets - but what could I do?  I don't want to work as a vet because I simply do not want to work under the more difficult situations. I wanted a job where the experience for both me and the pet would be pleasant and not painful or sickly - but what job is there for me? What could I do? Someone who has spent seventeen plus years in the travel industry...how could I possibly go from travel and tourism to working with pets?

Just as I grew tired of the airlines and the world was changing around me, I had come across an ad in a newspaper - it was for a groomer in a vets office - and thus the ''light' came on inside me, a pet groomer...that is where my life will take me next. I went to school for grooming, worked in a few great places where I learned more and finally opened up my own mobile grooming salon on Cape Cod.

My third dream is to write...and the stories I could tell from pets alone. The life of a Dog around the world - In Nepal they huddled in corners and scavenged for their food, self sufficient and yet friendly to the passing stranger. In China they were locked in cages at a zoo alongside another cage of a tiger. In London there was a Poodle Salon that only groomed standard Poodles and the beautifully groomed dogs, when finished with their day of beauty would stand by the window and watch the passer-bys, the passer-bys would in turn look at the remarkable dogs with a 'snobbish' look - they held their heads high and proud knowing they were king and queens. In America we cherish the dog like a member of the family and the dog goes to the doctor for a checkup and he goes to the salon for a new doo or perhaps to keep up the same doo or in my case, I come to him in my van.

Copyright 2003 All rights reserved Karen