MEET THE GROOMERS

COLLEEN
Owner/Groomer
My story of becoming a dog groomer starts a few years ago. While I was extremely satisfied with my current job at the time, I heard that age clock ticking time away, I knew I was missing that certain thing called “job satisfaction” in my business career. During those meaningful contemplation periods, my thoughts would always revolve to finding a career that would enable me to work with animals – specifically dogs. My thoughts over and over again kept coming back to professional pet grooming. Having shared my life with some special and amazing dogs, I never took our dogs to a groomer, having enjoyed the process of taking care of our fur kids at home, and quite honestly, not trusting anyone to care for my pets. The more I thought about this, I realized that I was not the only person to feel this way.
I had many, many hours of research and phone calls, absorbing as much information on a pet grooming career I could get my hands on. After a tour of the two pet grooming schools in Wisconsin, I chose to attend the Wisconsin School of Professional Pet Grooming in Oconomowoc WI. I had four months, 600 hours of intense schooling and hands on training. I knew the minute I started the grooming program, I would love every minute of it, and I did, even on the most challenging days. The look on a dog’s face when they came in for a groom, nervous and scared, and then the sense of love and respect I felt from the dogs when their grooming was complete, is a wonderful feeling that I will never get enough of. I am proud to say I maintained an A average throughout my schooling and I know I frustrated my instructor (in a good way!) because I coddled the dogs, and I am a perfectionist. I just knew how I would expect a groomer to be and my expectations of how our dogs would be treated and cared for. To me, the dogs in my care are my dogs. Always being gentle, caring, never forcing and treating them as the individuals that they are. I worked with many nervous and fearful dogs, and we worked thru their fears together, with patience, care and understanding.
I am honored to take care of each and every pet that walks into Muddy Paws Salon. It is important to me to have a relaxing and calm environment for the animals and I am not interested in moving a vast number of pets through my salon. Grooming is more than just cutting hair; it is my commitment to give my furry clients the most relaxing and trustworthy care throughout their visit.

DANIELLE
Groomer
My journey toward becoming a dog groomer started when I was attending the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay in 2013. Since I was a little girl, I wanted a career with small animals; but as I grew older, I still had no idea what path would be best for me. When my Aunt told me that she was going back to school to become a Professional Pet Groomer, it peaked my interest. When she graduated and opened her grooming business, I started shadowing her and also began attending grooming seminars with her to learn from the finest groomers in this profession. From the first time she taught me how to bathe a dog, I knew that this was the career for me.
One thing stood in my way from becoming a groomer at that moment....College. I was a competitive swimmer for 15 years and I worked very hard to receive a scholarship to offset my college education costs. This was an obvious opportunity I could not pass up. In 2017, I received my bachelors degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in general business and a minor in history.
After graduation, I returned to work in order to pay for my education at the Wisconsin School of Professional Pet Grooming in Oconomowoc, WI.
I started school in July 2018 and I immediately began to appreciate and love my chosen profession even more. I grew up with Brittney Spaniels that needed bathing only, so I did not realize there was so much to learn, especially pattern work with the many distinctive breeds. School gave me the solid foundation to work with many contrasting personalities and those dogs with health problems. After 4 months and 600 hands on hours, I graduated in October 2018.
I’m excited to have my business degree which has enabled me to help Muddy Paws behind the grooming scenes with bookkeeping, organization, marketing, among many other business related tasks.
My love and passion is strong for all animals, specifically dogs and cats, no matter the breed, age, temperament and health. Making sure the dog feels safe, secure, comfortable, and loved is what I strive for while grooming each and every pet.
I am excited to be a part of the Muddy Paws team and getting to know all of our wonderful customers and their awesome dogs.

Becky
Groomer
It was while I was a senior in high school that I began working at an area dog boarding/training/grooming establishment. I was hired as a Kennel/Daycare assistant. I truly enjoyed interacting with all the different dog breeds and personalities. The groomers would ask me to help them with dogs during the grooming process along with them teaching me how to properly bathe and dry the dogs. That's when I knew I wanted to pursue a career as a Professional Dog Groomer.
After my graduation from high school, I enrolled in the Animal Behavior College. This program is self-learning/on-line reading and testing. Afterwards, I was assigned a Professional Dog Groomer mentor and I had to complete 100 hours of hands-on-training with my mentor.
As my Grooming career blossomed, several family and friends were reaching out to me as they were having behavior issues with their dogs; many were adopting through local rescue organizations. I began tapping into yet another facet of the dog world that I have a deep passion for which is positive dog training. My core foundation for training is positive reinforcement as it helps with reactive and aggressive dog behaviors and most importantly how to communicate with the dogs. I received my Dog Trainer certificate through the Karen Pryor Academy in 2021. Now, in addition to my grooming career, I also am working as a dog trainer.
My dogs and I also have competed in AKC Dog sports - Agility, and AKC Title Recognition Program - (CGC) Canine Good Citizen. My dogs & I have participated in many trials and they have several titles that we have worked hard towards and it is a sport that I can enjoy together with my dogs.
Due to unforeseen circumstances, there was a time I was not able to groom for several months. In one moment, I realized how passionate I was about dog grooming and dog training. This is just not my job, but it is my career and I am grateful to have the opportunity to care for all the dogs here at Muddy Paws Salon.

Annabelle
Bather/Housekeeping
Two years ago, I began working at a dog boarding facility during the summer to get my foot in the door in order to find out if working with dogs would be the career for me. It was safe to say I fell in love and going to work never felt like a job to me. Although I truly enjoyed my job at the boarding facility, I was intrigued with dog grooming, and I knew I needed to find a professional grooming salon where I could observe and learn about the grooming process.
I started doing research on-line and decided that owning my own grooming business was a profession that I was very interested in. In order to figure out that this was the career route I wanted to pursue, I began contacting grooming salons that might be looking for help so I could learn grooming basics. I found myself being turned down, with many businesses not even responding to me. This did not deter me and giving up was never an option as my aspiration kept pushing me forward.
Then, in the summer of 2024, my search led me to Muddy Paws Salon. Colleen (Owner/Groomer), responded to my message right away and took me under her wing, and thus began my excitement for my future in dog grooming. Colleen and her Groomers, Becky and Danielle, are the most genuine women I have met. Since becoming a part of the Muddy Paws Salon team, my love for dog grooming has only grown seeing the day-to-day operations of a salon and being around all the different dog breed(s).
I currently bathe and dry dogs for the team and also help with various housekeeping tasks around the salon. As I finish my senior year of high-school and prepare for grooming school in 2025. I can proudly say I have met my biggest supporters and mentors.
I am excited to start my grooming career, working alongside the Muddy Paws team until I am ready to soar on my own.