I’ll get to the nitty gritty, because I know that’s the thing people mostly care about. My pet care experience is blended with over 20 years of casual and professional pet experience. I started young in a rural Olney Illinois with an AKC/CKC showing and breeding momma. I was surrounded by animals (not just dogs) my whole life. Learned to give vaccines and medication before I knew how to drive. We raised Newfoundlands, Shih tzus, Australian Shepherds, Chihuahuas, and owned a few random animals in-between. Goats, rabbits, cats of course.

Professionally, I’ve had a rough go of it but made the best of what I was given to work with. In February of 2021 I started as a kennel and daycare attendant as a facility that did Boarding, Daycare, and Grooming. What I thought was a dream job quickly turned into a nightmare. Employees endangered and mistreated, supplies going unordered, pets consistently going home injured…but I’m not one to complain and do nothing. I worked my way to management and for nearly two years I tried to improve whatever conditions I possibly could, for employees and clients alike. Now, needless to say, that didn’t work out, but here we are. After I left I ended up doing a little bit or sitting through Rover and grooming at a couple of salons. I also enrolled in University.

In my time at that facility I learned to groom from a woman with over 30 years of experience. I obsessively learned safety techniques and pet behaviors so that I could offer that knowledge to the employees as part of those improvements I mentioned. Even though it might have ended painfully, I am thankful for all I learned in that time. The same as I am thankful for the little bit of time I have had in a couple of salons, honing those grooming skills, even if they also did not work out in the end either. Scheduling conflicts with schooling and availabilities. So now, I make my own schedule.

Grooming Specifics: My training was off and on over that two years as while I was learning, I was also the Operations Manager for both locations so I did not have the ability to directly focus on grooming. After the facility my experience remained spotty as I tried to find work in a salon to groom full-time before deciding to offer all services myself. I consider myself a beginner. I have been told to give myself more credit, both by clients and other groomers, however I still feel beginner is more than accurate to describe my level of skill. My prices also reflect my acknowledgement of my skill level.

I apologize now because I am absolutely awful at talking about myself, but I’ll do my best.

Obviously, I’m Megan. a 90’s baby who never fully got her feet beneath her. I suppose you could blame a little of that on the AuDHD. I am the type of autistic that never got diagnosed as a kid but everybody knew I was just “a little off.” It stayed “a little” until adulthood and then slowly I began to realize it was a little more than a little. It made normal employment difficult. I still don’t quite fully understand a lot of things that go on in workplaces, but that’s for a different time. What I’m getting to is that I found working with animals to be the most rewarding work, and the safest I could feel.

I am also chronically ill in a physical nature. I have a condition called endometriosis. While it is much better now, there was a point in time I was so physically miserable I was able to grow a 13 lb tumor without realizing it. (Please don’t judge, it was the beginning of COVID and I was working from home and thought I just put on weight lol.) The physical symptoms just mirrored my usual issues. Thankfully, that tumor knocked out one of my ovaries and with half the hormones my body seems to be able to function much easier.

It is the biggest reason why I am so incredibly thankful that I can support myself even on the days I feel the worst. I have a roof over my head and can keep food in my belly as long as there are pets that need some extra love.

Let me clear about one thing, I do not have any certifications. Yet.

All of my grooming knowledge comes from hands on learning under women with decades of experience. The same with my behavior and safety knowledge and all else, but I have every intention of adding certifications as I can afford the classes and whatnot that go with them.

I do know dog CPR, I have dealt with seizing, bite wounds, hot spots, and more.

Personally, I am also enrolled at SIUE in Political Science. The state of the country weighs heavily on my heart but a lot of what I tried to fix at that boarding facility also should have been able to be addressed legally… it wasn’t. 15-16 year olds left alone with 20+ dogs to themselves, rusted equipment, no clear training, pets unattended, pets not let out in far too long or left outside overnight with no one on premises. The pet care industry needs better regulation and I intend to learn how to help with that.