Like you, most of my grooming days are filled with shampooing and conditioning, claw trims and ear cleaning, clipping and scissoring, brushing and combing. But sometimes, the job goes beyond that. Yesterday was one of those days.
It was Sunday morning, a day off, and I was settled in my comfy chair with a cup of tea and my laptop for a little recreational "surfing." I received a message from a woman who was a long-time customer until her elderly toy poodle headed off to the Rainbow Bridge. I missed seeing the dog and the human and was glad to hear from her. She told me that she had applied to adopt a dog from a local shelter and had put me down as a reference. It was not the first dog she had tried to adopt, but none of the previous applications were accepted because small fluffy dogs are a hot commodity in our part of the country. "I'm so lonely without a dog," she wrote. I assured her I would give her a glowing recommendation and returned to my tea.
A few moments later, my cell phone twitched. It was a message from a current customer with a picture of an impossibly cute Yorkie mix. "This dog is looking for a home if you know anyone interested," her message said. I fired back a volley of questions: how old was the dog, why was she up for adoption, was there a re-homing fee, where was the dog located, was it up to date with the routine vaccinations, you know, all the things. For several minutes, my phone pinged with information.
I shared all I had learned about the dog looking for a home with my customer who was looking for a dog, and let me tell you, there was a lot of excitement going on. Before I knew it, the dog's current owner called me, and we had an informative chat. He and his wife had purchased and loved this eight-month-old puppy, but due to serious health challenges and upcoming travel, they had made the difficult decision to find her a different home. I was given permission to have my "looking for a dog" lady call him. I stepped out of the triangle and went about my day.
A few hours later, a new message jingled. I opened it to find a picture of a familiar face, grinning wide with an adorable puppy snuggled close. "Meet May," she wrote. "Please find a place for her on your calendar. She'll need to see you in about four weeks."
And just like that, from my comfy seat and on my day off, I solved a problem for one family, gave another family some joy they had been looking for, and acquired a dandy new regular customer for what will hopefully be years to come. Pet grooming is sometimes more than a haircut.
