Groom Room News

Happy new year to all ! May it be a prosperous and healthy year for you!

News of the Wierd (and creepy!)

Well......I've always said , there's a first time for everything.....now, I truly believe it!

Ok, so, for the last few days, I have had a strange sound I have been hearing in my left ear........even when I sleep....it's like a scratching or bubbling sound.........no ear ache, no other symtoms, other than being extremely annoying.  I had gone in with a q-tip , nothing......not even ear wax...hmmmmmm......So this is going on for two days and I'm on my third........It's Sunday, The Sunday before Christmas to be exact.....My son works at the facility I do in the kennel and I was taking him to work at around 5:30 am......I dropped him off and was headed back home to climb back into my fluffy bed when  a favorite song of mine came on the radio.....so, naturally , I reached over , and turned up the radio .....INSTANTLY I felt this horrible pain in my left ear as though I had been stabbed with an ice pick through my brain.........it almost made me wreck~!  I thought to myself, ok, I have a SEVERE something going on in my left ear and I've got to get that checked out, I had a Doctors appt on the following monday so I thought I'll get it checked then.....I drove on home, twinges of pain randomly hit me.....I settled into a movie with my spouse...the movie had gunfire in it.....each time the guns would fire.......it hit me.....an ICEPICK  pain again.........brought me straight up off the bed!!! Aughhh!!!

I said.....hey, I have to go to the emergency room...........the whole time........intermittentley I am still hearing that bubbley scratching noise.......every few seconds........well, they got me checked in, and when the Doctor came in.....I told him my ailment and he said well lets just have a look........nope, I don't see anything he said.....your ear looks really good in fact..........then....no......wait...let me get a smaller scope......upon looking with the smaller scope he said " I see something "on" your eardrum or maybe even slightly behind it".........but " I can't tell what it is"........so, he ordered a "flush" of my ear...........which I was TOTALLY unprepared for!.......it instantly makes you drunk........like that sick I'm going to throw up on you drunk!.....They push a whole syringe of fluid through your ear......thank God I was lying down............the nurse said " I'll be right back" just stay there please.......like I could move!......The Doctor came in.......and said.........well......Kim I think we got the culprit........."Culprit?!"...........he showed me the white towel and on it..........a FLEA!!!!!!

IT HAD BEEN MUNCHING AWAY ON MY EAR DRUM FOR THREE DAYS!  We had an influx of dogs at the shop with fleas right before Christmas and the other day, one had jumped off a dog into my hair.....I scratched and scratched .......I thought I got rid of it at one point.......well.....it had apparently climbed into my ear and then rested on my ear drum......what I was hearing was its legs moving.....eeeauuuuugggghhhhh!!!!!!!!!...................also, what caused the pain was my ear drum , when it moved due to the pressure changes because of the change in sound, so did the flea....and because the ear drum is the most sensitive part of your body....also the closest to the brain , in fact attached to the brain with the shortest pain receptor distance it caused  unbearable pain......

My ear, Thankfully will be fine.......a little irritated, but, fine..........my psychological status.......still creeped out~.......moral of the story............if you have long hair......put it up when you groom....I will from now on..........happy "flea free" grooming guys.....Kim

The crazy Christmas season Push

Hi guys,

I hope this finds you all knee deep in dog furr.....making money, and enjoying your art of canine cosmetology~

BUT..........it is soooo easy to get caught up in accomodating everyone who calls, and the need to stockpile money for the slower season that we can forego some important things to our integrity in our services.  If you overbook yourself, you could lose that client you are trying to accomodate due to lack of quality....I always, and it just is my way of doing things, not to say it should be yours, but, I always make room ,if I'm going to squeeze some one in, for established clients in my shop. No one wants to lose a new client but, If you take in that new client, and you are pushed for time, and unable to do your very best to impress, you may just have that client for that one visit and that's it. To me, it's not worth it. We are all in need to keep ourselves afloat, but, truth be known, if I'm not satisfied with a service, cnances are, I'm not going to call and complain, I'm just not going to go back.......When our most important time of year to make our pets in our clientele look thier very best counts the most is at Christmas, when family and freinds come to visit our homes....so, with that said, that's some pretty good exposure to our talent and service ability. If we prove to be a dissappointment to our client whether it be a new client or and established one.  They may just keep fido hidden in another room and then, be angry and not come back....... Keep your books busy, but don't compromise quality for quanitity, if you can't offer a full groom a lot of people would just as well be satisfied with a mini groom ( face feet and sanitary trim and a bath) rather than to have a botched rushed service.....just some food for thought. Peace, love, and Happy Holidays! Kim

Tis the Season

Hello fellow groomers!

Well I am writing this entry currently under the weather, but determined to not make it an unproductive day...ahh those buggy winter head colds~!

  I know that much of the country is in an economic slump and though usually the grooming industry isn't affected by  such a slump, it seems that this one has us in its grips.  Try to breathe and have faith that this too shall pass.

As long as you provide a thorough service, to the best of your ability, you will prevail.

I am forgoing my usual format this entry.

I want to talk to you about the common ground we all share.........the excuses our clients give us about not having taken care of thier pets coats.

Lets do a Top Ten shall we?

1. I've left him with my ex husband over the weekend and he never did help me brush him

2. I'm sorry I'm late, but, he got loose and ran through the bushes , by the time I caught him, he was all matted up!

3. He ran through the sprinkler yesterday

4. It's my dogsitters fault, I was gone for a week and I left her explicit instructions to brush him daily "Just like I do"....."..ok"......

5. I just rescued him and I've only had him a week  ( the client forgets that they get him groomed here once a year and they give the same reason every year)

6. He rolled around on the carpet yesterday when we were playing and got all these knots in his furr!

7. I brush him every day and  i get all the mats out but by the next morning he is matted again, he must roll around a lot when he sleeps!

8. He bites me when I try to brush him, but don't worry, he won't bite You...

9. It's my childs fault, I said  when we got this dog it was her responsibility to keep it brushed.(The child is only 4)

10. WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE TO SHAVE HIM? I BRUSH HIM EVERY DAY I DO NOT FEEL ANY MATTS?! (because it has grown into a second skin)  WELL ALRIGHT, BUT, LEAVE AS MUCH AS YOU CAN BECAUSE WE LIKE HIM TO BE FLUFFY !