Lynn Lau
Northern News Services

Inuvik (Oct 07/02) - If a dog you know is looking better than usual, it's probably been to see Sarah Cayen.

The 21-year-old animal groomer specializes in making pets look their best. She's even been known to dye her wiener dog's coat (from red to black) and paint his nails every colour of the rainbow.

Dog groomer Sarah Cayen prepares her little client, Buddy, for a hair cut at the Aurora Research Institute. - Lynn Lau/NNSL photo

"I like to have fun with what I'm doing and I like to experiment with my dog," she explains.

Cayen, who lived for five years in Fort McPherson and three years Yellowknife before moving to St. Catherines, Ont., was back in the North for a visit last week. She rented space at the Aurora Research Institute and performed some of her pet transformations on area dogs, shampooing coats, trimming nails, and detangling matted coats.

Dogs aren't all. She also works on other species -- she owns quite a few herself -- two cats, two hamsters, two rabbits, four piranhas, and a horse. "Everything except the pyranas gets bathed."

Unlike the people who visit beauty salons, Cayen's subjects are usually unwilling.

Although she went to grooming school and has been helping with groomers since she was a teen, Cayen admits she has no special secret for not for getting drenched or bitten.

"You just try to anticipate what direction the dog is going and try to move with it," she explains. "You can't make the dog want to do anything."

Although wrestling a dog into a bath doesn't sound like it could be relaxing, Cayen claims it is. "I love working with animals," she says. "Most of the dogs that come in -- they're a total mess and I like being able to send them out looking a whole lot better. I find I can be really creative with it."

Depending on the breed and type of fur, Cayen can create all manner of styles much like a hairstylist.

"Every breed is supposed to have a different trim and then you have to work with the people because different people want different things done with their dogs," Cayen says.

"Whatever they want, I can do, as long as I have the hair there to work with."