Published: February 15, 2008 06:52 pm         

A hairy job but somebody has to do it

She likes to cut their hair and fix their nails, but every day is a challenge because most of her customers bite and scratch.

As the owner of Patty’s Grooming Room, Patty Green has spent the last 30 years grooming dogs and cats. Although her goal is to have animals looking their best before the “parents” pick them up, her main goal of the day is to not get bitten.

Green, who recently was badly bitten and scratched on her arm by a cat, referred to her bites and scratches as “war wounds.”

“If animals decide that you’re done messing with them, you might as well give up, because you’ll get more war wounds,” she said. “Most dogs don’t like to get their toenails done or have the hairs in their ears plucked.

“I probably get bit every single day. Getting bit is just part of the job. If I let that bother me, however, I wouldn’t have been doing this for 30 years.”

Green said that people will often try to groom their dogs themselves before bringing them to a pet groomer.

“A lot of dogs just don’t like to get their toenails cut, so they’ll scream and holler (at home),” she said. “But they don’t try that with me.

“The neat thing I learned throughout the years is that it’s a control issue with dogs. I believe that it’s a confidence level. After doing this for 30 years, I believe animals can sense that. And I think I have a way with animals.”

With the exceptions of getting dipped for fleas and being put in a kennel for an afternoon, a pet grooming shop isn’t much different than a “human’s” beauty shop. Customers get a shampoo; they can watch themselves in a mirror — if they choose — as they get their hair combed and trimmed; and they even get their hair blow-dried.

On second thought, however, a pet grooming shop is much different from a “human’s” beauty shop because the customers can’t speak — they bark, hiss and meow.

“My ‘customers’ do their share of talking back, but in their own way,” she said. “I’ve just learned to ignore them.”

Green said she has to deal with a lot of things that most people wouldn’t want to have to deal with on a daily basis, which involves cleaning up messes that animals have left behind.

“One time, a man brought his dog in who lifted his hind leg and started to mark his territory on my wall,” she recalled with a laugh. “I asked him, ‘Are you going to let him get away with that?’

And she said the man replied, “He’s just marking his territory.”

“Well, this isn’t his territory,” Green said to the customer’s owner.

Green compared most of her customers to how some children act.

“When their ‘parents’ aren’t around, they’re well-behaved,” she said. “When their ‘parents’ are here, though, they think their ‘parents’ are going to save them.’”

Green said that puppies are the hardest dogs to groom because of their age, and that she doesn’t mind grooming cats.

“For puppies, that’s usually their first haircut, and they’re wiggly,” she said. “Puppies take longer to groom because you have to be more careful with them. Sometimes, it’s the little dogs that are harder to groom because they won’t be still.

“And cats, you have to do them on the move, because they won’t stand still like a dog. I actually groom more dogs than cats, but percentage-wise, cats are better than dogs.”

Green said that it normally depends on the season on how many animals she grooms per day.

“When you do one or two a day, it’s fun,” she said. “When you do more than 20 a day, however, it’s work.

“Christmastime is really busy, but summer is the busiest, because it’s hot, and people have to take care of their dogs.

“My motto in the Spring, though, is, ‘They mowed the yard and found their dog.’”

Green also grooms and shows dogs at dog shows, and her favorite dog is the Shi Tzu.

“Ten years ago, one came in my shop, and it stole my heart,” she said. “The first one I brought home was housebroken so quick, that my husband said, ‘Let’s get another one.’”

Now, Green has six dogs (who like to sleep with her), and when she’s showing a dog, that dog will live with her. Although Green’s been showing dogs for almost a decade, she’s been showing other people’s dogs for three years.

“The dogs have to live with you, because they need to get to know you,” she said. “And I get to groom the dogs, show them, and get to travel the country showing dogs.”

Green said the most rewarding part of her job is the creativity and knowing that she did her job well.

“It takes a certain amount of patience, and I like being creative. It’s rewarding, and I like the feel of accomplishment and achievement and making my clients happy.

“What has kept me in this business so long is that I’m an animal and dog nut,” she said. “This is who I am.”