Love Thy Neighbor

One of the most enjoyable things about being in business is becoming part of a like-minded community.  On your block and in your hometown, you are connected, just as you are to the grooming community through magazines like this one, regional and national organizations or attendance at those wonderful conventions and trade shows held all over the country. Whether you sponsor a youth sports team, hold an open house to benefit local animal shelters with adoptable pets conveniently on hand, help fund a walk for people and their pets to raise money for a worthy cause, make a donation toward a new dog park or sell T-shirts for a favorite charity, these activities give you a chance to give back to the folks who support you, polishing up your image in the process. 

In my newly adopted community, Katrina Boucher, proprietor of The Cape Cod Dog, makes it a point to support animal lovers by offering a spacious downstairs meeting room in the building where her pet store is located at no charge for pet-related groups like the Nauset Newcomers Dog Group and the Eastham Dog Owners Association (EDOA). The Newcomers meet there monthly to socialize, listen to guest lecturers, share information relevant to dogs in the area and, of course, admire each other’s furry children because just as they are upstairs in the store, dogs are always welcome.

A town-wide dog advocacy group, the Eastham Dog Owners Association (EDOA) works to ensure the rights of dogs and their owners in this resort community by lobbying for their rights, most recently involving access to a town beach. Members also work for animal-related charitable organizations that serve the Cape. The club’s website features a “Lost Pet” section and offers pictures of dogs and cats in need of new homes. EDOA members organize dog-friendly activities such as dog walks and playgroups in which all may participate, hoping the social network they are building will someday be able to provide pet owners with emergency support in times of need. 

In April, Boucher scheduled a photo session for children and pets at her facility with the Easter Bunny to help raise funds for this group.  She even bought a bunny costume so she could play the part of the long-eared guest of honor herself. EDOA members also scheduled a Poop Pickup Party in a local park where the town’s annual Easter Egg Hunt will be held so that no unwanted surprises would be found by kids looking to fill their baskets. Last year’s photo session benefited The Sampson Fund, a group that provides financial assistance for the medical treatment of critically ill or injured dogs and cats whose caregivers cannot afford treatment or for abandoned pets in need of such care. “I try to work with a different organization each time,” Boucher says. “I like to spread the joy around.” 

In March, she hosted the mobile Spay/Neuter Wagon from Boston’s Animal Rescue League in her parking lot to offer this important service at a convenient location for local pet owners. Because the dogs could rest and recuperate in her spacious lower level after their procedures, the traveling vets could accommodate several more dogs. She plans to hold a yard sale next fall to raise funds for an animal-related cause yet to be announced.

“I always like to give back to the community, no matter what,” she says.  “This is the town where I grew up.  At the same time, I’m trying to reach out to the people who have dogs or cats so they can potentially become customers.  We want to get people in the door to see what we have and to let them know we are a resource for them.”


Activist Groomers
In our own salon, my daughter Missi and I sponsor and attend local fundraisers for organizations like the Purr-fect Cat Shelter of Medway and the Baypath Humane Society of Hopkinton, both of which were offered booths at our 40th Anniversary Celebration last fall. Missi’s band also volunteers to play at charitable events to benefit animals, and she does solo gigs as well. However, while giving back is an important part of what we do, she cautions that a small business must be sensible in its approach to charitable giving. “My rule of thumb is that because every church, synagogue, youth sports team and civic organization calls us for donations, it is to animal-related causes that we give back because we make our living by caring for animals. I hope people will understand when they call and my response is that we would love to help, but we choose to give to animal-related organizations because for us, it’s just the right thing to do,” she says. “We feel that it’s a privilege to give back to animals in need and I think they understand that.”

Some groomers help out in such causes just because it’s part of who they are, like groomer Debbie Baker of Debbie Does Dogs in Sharon, Mass. All five of her rescue dogs–two standard poodles, two mini poodles and a Chihuahua–are therapy dogs that visit patients at the Behavioral Medical Unit at nearby Norwood Hospital on a weekly basis. She has been doing this for 30 years. All such dogs must be certified and insured by the Pets and People Foundation, Inc. (www.petsandpeoplefoundation.org), of which she is a board member.  “They do screening to let you know if your dogs are suitable for this kind of work,” she advises.

“This is what I do best,” says Debbie.  “It makes a really big difference with the patients.  I get a lot of good feedback from the medical staff.” She relates how the patients in this pysch unit love to hold Xena, her Chihuahua, and how that contact gets them talking about dogs they have had, or how they thought all Chihuahuas were supposed to be nippy.  “Many of these patients are pretty much non-responsive to their caregivers,” she adds.

Although she does this because she loves to share her animals, to show them off and talk about them, Debbie did receive local and national media coverage when she volunteered to do pet therapy with families of the tragic Station Nightclub Fire in Warwick, R.I., in 2003.  After hearing that 100 had been lost on the morning news, she and trainer friend Cotton Silverman drove down to be present at the hotel serving as headquarters for the families of victims, working with  the Red Cross. “It was the hardest three hours I’ve ever spent doing therapy work.”


Get Involved
Groomers don’t have to travel far afield to educate people about pet care. You could volunteer to talk about and demonstrate dog and cat grooming in the local schools, write about seasonal pet health and safety issues for the local paper, or contact a local television station to do an interview on pet care, perhaps to be broadcast from your own salon.

No matter how you choose to participate in helping out worthy causes in your community, you and your business will benefit in the process. You will be perceived as someone who has a stake in the place where you live and do business, beyond the simple goal of making a living, someone who cares deeply about people and pets. The exposure will boost your image as a valued professional willing to lend support to causes you believe in. It’s a win/win situation for everyone.

Kathy Salzberg is a Certified Master Groomer and writer. She and her daughter, Missi Salzberg, own The Village Groomer and Pet Supply in Walpole, Mass., one of New England’s busiest grooming salons. The winner of two Cardinal Crystal Achievement Awards, Kathy has written extensively on pet care for magazines and authored books on dogs and pet care careers–How to Start a Home-Based Pet Care Career (Globe Pequot Press, 2001 & 2006) and The Everything Small Dogs Book (Adams Media, 2006).