Recent events in a West Hollywood, California grooming salon have
gotten the attention of the local city council and the results may
soon sweep the entire state.
On April 1, 2003 Harry, a golden retriever, died in a cage dryer.His
temperature was an amazing 109 degrees. The cause of death: dehydra-tion and heat exhaustion. ” Several months later, another death. This time an 11 year old Lhasa Apso, died while unattended on a grooming table for
some “mysterious” reason when the groomer walked away to change a
clipper blade. Another dog,an 11 year old Siberian husky sustained irri-tation
and burnsin over 80% of his body after being clipped. This dog’s owner sued for these injuries and won the suit. All three of these
instances occurred in the same West Hollywood salon. The City Council of West Hollywood has invited the Southern Califor-nia
Professional Groomers Association to participate in the drafting of the
legislation for groomers in their city. Mr. Paul Koretz, State Assemblyman
from the 42 District, was quoted as saying he wants to “create statewide
grooming standards and present them to Sacramento.” This assemblyman
took a personal interest in the amazing number of calls complaining of
abuse, injury, and general neglect of pets. This privately owned group of four salons onsistently displayed an appalling lack of education, profes-sionalism
overall presentation by the owner, manager and employees. |
 careless methods? Or should we seek to educate our groomers and give the system a way to correct and police itself?
So many stylists are concerned about being told
what to do and how to do it, but many are missing the big picture. The consummate professional is keenly aware that the client has a right to a safe environment for their pet. Continuing education, as well as sanita-tion, first aid, emergency and CPR classes should be included in these con-siderations. Education is the safety net for the salon as well as the clients. Licensing will give groomers the foothold needed to gain the respect o f varying levels vof authority, including Veterinarians. We must govern our own industry, or someone else will do it for us!
A committee from the SCPGA met in West Hollywood on Oct 22, 2003 to answer questions about our industry, its procedures, and the current regulations governing us. The organizations goal was to guide the com-mittee in creating reasonable regulations that are fair to both clients and
stylists, and encourage a focus on safety, anitation and handling proce-dures. The city council has been extremely open and cooperative; having a desire to pass legislation that will make a groomer responsible for their actions.
A primary concern of the city council is the use of enclosed cage dry-ers: like the one Harry died in. The SCPGA expressed that any piece of equipment is only as safe as the person operating it. |
| What's Inside ... |
Editor’s Desk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
Groomer’s Calendar . . . . . . . .. .. .. . . 3
Coordinator’s Corner . . . . . . . .... . . ..4
Q&A with Chris Palowsky . . . .... . . . ..5
The International Scene . . . . . .... . . .6
Natual Grooming . . . . . . . . . . . .... . .7
Point Tracking . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . .7
W.WWW.WW . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . .8
Marketing is a State of Mind. . ...... .12
Wahl 2003 Groomer of the Year..... 13
Creative Styling in Thailand ... . .... .13 |
GroomTeam USA
Mission Statement |
| To utilize the organization as a vehicle toencourage continued education, growth,pride and the competitive spirit within thepet styling industry. |
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Many people at the hearing were
demanding the immediate closure
of this business!
Is losing these salons the
answer? Where do the employees
go? Do they move on to other
salons to continue with the same |
When used in accor-dance
with the manufactures instructions and with pets being constantly monitored to guarantee against verheating situations these dryers can be considered safe. Despite information presented about safety shut-off switches on these dryers West Hollywood has chosen to ban |
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 Da Sylva Wins 1st Annual Lynn Carver Memorial Award
Vera Da Sylva, GroomTeam USA’s “newest” American has won the first annual Lynn
Carver Memorial Award and the beautiful perpetual trophy that comes with the recog-nition
of being the best of the “Best All Around Groomers.”
The award was created by GroomTeam USA to honor the memory of Lynn Carver
who left us, very prematurely, in 2003. Lynn was a competitive in the original 1987
team as well as the 1988, ’89, ’90 and ’91 teams and had served on the Board of Direc-tors
for many years until her untimely passing.
The Lynn Carver Memorial Award honors the GroomTeam competitor who garners the most “Best All
Around Groomer” awards in GroomTeam sanctioned competitions in a calendar year. The trophy for
2003 was presented to Vero in a luncheon presentation held at the Atlanta Pet Fair in Atlanta, Georgia in
March. |
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corner after the introduction page.
