Your Opinion: Pet grooming requires safe, humane approach

Dear Editor:

I want to thank the News Tribune for printing the story about the plight of the pet grooming industry.

No one wants regulation, but sometimes it is very necessary. It may not be too difficult to pick up a pair of clippers and scissors, but there is so much more to pet grooming then knowing the basics of clippers and scissors.

There is safety, proper handling, and being able to execute the grooming process in a humane manner so as not to psychologically damage your pet. You also have to know the safety of shampoos, pesticides and more.

Many pets are frightened of baths and everything else in the grooming process. You do not want the experience worse than it already is.

There are seminars and grooming associations which certify groomers so they can achieve the needed education to become groomers without using the public's pets to practice on.

Yet for some reason very few groomers take advantage of this because the pet owners just do not know the difference between a well-educated pet groomer, and one in need of further education. A groomer gets very intimate with your pet, and things can go very wrong there. which can cause injury to your pet or even the groomer.

It's not an easy job and not a job for anyone with less than two years experience to do on their own.

Since grooming survived the recessions, and being that it requires zero education and the fact that many beginner groomers are put in situations way before they are ready, this is the main culprit of injured and killed pets across the nation, and not all of them are reported either.

As a result the foundation clubs of the grooming industry created a coalition of the top grooming associations in the country - ISCC, NDGAA and IPG - and they are working through PIJAC to created minimum standards for pet groomers to ensure your pets are safe and treated humanely.

Small accidents can happen but with inexperience, serious unheard of accidents are happening.

Some of these accidents can be in the thousands of dollars for veterinarian care, and you do not want to be put in that situation where vet care puts you at financial risk because a business is not properly insured. So please ensure your groomer has proper liability insurance.