GROOMING TO SAVE A LIFE - COCKER STYLE

I continue to get immense satisfaction from grooming for my local rescue group, FAIR (Foundation for Animals In Risk). The animals that come through this group have all been snatched from Death Row at the local pound, Pima County Animal Care Center. They are animals for whom luck and time has run out. Well, not quite, because of FAIR. FAIR is a non-profit (very non) group of mostly volunteers who scout out dogs at the pound that they think deserve another chance. A volunteer will advocate for a dog they have spotted, and if approved, the dog is moved into the FAIR program of fostering and adoption. Dogs are fostered with volunteers for a period of two weeks to several months while their needs and issues are assessed. Then they are put up for adoption to be matched with an owner.

Last year FAIR opened an adoption center a block away from my grooming business. I drive past it daily. Although I've known about the great work of this organization for years, I always figured they had grooming options lined up. Many years ago I did volunteer grooming for another shelter, the local Humane Society. This relationship faded when leadership changed and my volunteer who brought me dogs ceased volunteering.

The profession of pet grooming has been good to me. It has supported me for over 30 years. Maybe grooming hasn't provided the style to which I would like to become accustomed, but I get by. Volunteer grooming for rescue gives me a means to give back to my community for the wonderful customers with pets who have been coming to me for years. It gives me a chance to use my advanced grooming skills in a way that make a difference in an animal's life. The satisfaction is HUGE, way more than the $$ would be if I were getting paid. So I popped into the FAIR center this year and made myself present and available.

Here is this week's volunteer grooming. Domini is a young cocker who was rescued 8 months ago and has remained in foster care due to a chronic piddling problem. She is also somewhat deformed in the rear legs which suggests to me that there may be a neurological problem. At the very least we could say that this dog has multiple special needs. Here she is before grooming:


YUKKK! PEE-U!! That staining is from urine! Can you see the mats on the chest? Any groomer in her Right Mind would grab the clippers and start the buzz job. Not me. That's not what I'm in it for. My commitment is to use my skills to make a difference where ever possible. Clipped down, this dog would not just look horrible, she would look pitiful. Her little rear legs are weak and wobbly and her front is somewhat overdeveloped from supporting the weight. No, sorry, clipping down is NOT going to make this baby more adoptable. I plunged in and saved the coat. Here she is afterwards:


The grooming took two visits. That was because I discovered AFTER the first bath (actually two baths in one) that Domini has a excessively greasy coat. What is "excessively greasy"? Well, my first clue is that the coat would not dry. She was in a drying cage with fans all around for nearly two hours and still didn't dry. Even under the heat of my arm dryer, the coat did not want let go of the last dampness. Grrr. Then when I started clipping the back, ewww, it was greasy at the skin. It wasn't enough to hurt my blades, but it wasn't the result I desired. I roughed out the groom and scheduled her to come back for a degreasing bath and finish. On the second visit, I used a combination of EZ Groom DeZolve It shampoo and Dawn dish soap.

Now, if we could just get her to smile!

P.S. A memo from FAIR says Domini was one of the first dogs to be adopted at the FAIR fair, in spite of her issues.