Student of the Month
Dog Groomer Megan McDermott
Longtime animal lover, Megan McDermott of Airdire, Alberta, signed up for Animal Behavior College’s dog groomer program in February 2014. She has shown wonderful progress in her externship at Grooming Tails Pet Spa & Daycare in Calgary. Megan’s grooming mentor Connie says Megan has been doing an amazing job and showing great natural ability. From someone who has been grooming for over 10 years, Connie’s praise illustrates Megan’s potential to be a talented and successful certified dog groomer.
Megan has always loved animals and knew she wanted to be in the animal industry. She used to want to be a veterinarian. However, after struggling in her math classes, she knew she didn’t have the grades to handle the amount of schooling required to become a veterinarian.
A few years ago, her boyfriend’s parents adopted a Cocker Spaniel. Being the animal lover in the group, she would offer to groom her.
“Each time I groomed her, I would do something a little differently to see what looked better. Without knowing it, I was experimenting with a few different cuts, as I later learned when I started my grooming program!” says Megan. She realized she had a natural talent and ability to groom. “It helps to have a creative streak as well! That is when I decided to pursue grooming for my profession.”
Her most rewarding moment during the externship was seeing the difference she could make in the animals’ lives. “They come in looking uncomfortable and in pain,” says Megan. “After some hard work and lots of love, they look so much better and I can tell they are happy and relieved. It is awesome to see such a change in the dog when they are done and knowing you did that. To know that you have the talent to make a difference and help the dogs feel better is a great feeling.”
She found Animal Behavior College while searching online for an affordable and flexible school. She liked the flexibility of the program, how she could pace herself for the written stages and request extensions if needed.
“I was also really drawn to the experience you gain in an actual grooming salon through the externship. It has been an amazing journey to see how far I have come from when I started and seeing my work now.”
Megan currently works as a receptionist at Airdire Dog and Pony, a grooming and retail shop. She specifically runs the front desk and cashier for the retail portion. After receiving her dog grooming certification, her employers will be promoting her to a full-time grooming position. “They are very happy with my skills and progress so far and I am excited for the future,” says Megan.
As for plans in the far future, she would like to own her own shop. She dreams of opening a big two-story warehouse for daycare and grooming. The bottom floor would be a daycare and upstairs would be the dog grooming salon. “I would work hard to have happy and satisfied clients (both with fur and without) and have great reviews online. My shop would give those others in the area a run for their money!”