Grooming drive to tackle matted mutts
Lack of options in NWT prompts Fort Simpson initiative for fly-in pet groomer
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Northern News Services
Monday, May 29, 2017
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Citing a lack of pet services in the Deh Cho region as her motivation, Fort Simpson's Jocelyn MacLean is on a crusade to enhance the options for pet owners in her community.
Fort Simpson's Jocelyn MacLean, pictured here with her bichon-cavalier king spaniel mix Juno, left, and cockapoo Shakespeare, hopes to raise enough money to fly a groomer into the community for a week. - photo courtesy of Jocelyn MacLean |
The owner of Pause and Paws Crossing, a kennel service that has been open since December, MacLean is the brains behind a fundraiser that aims to bring a dog groomer up from Alberta for a week to help some of the animals in Fort Simpson.
"They'll get a bath, a haircut and their nails clipped," MacLean said.
The groomer in question, Geri Blew, runs Whiskers and Whinnies, a grooming business based in Beaverlodge, Alta.
"She makes her own hours and said she's happy to come," MacLean said.
The willingness of Blew to take on the task of managing the village's matted mutts came as a relief to MacLean, who had reached out to numerous groomers before finding someone willing to come.
Blew opened her grooming studio one year ago, but says she has been grooming dogs for decades.
"I remember my grandmother letting me take scissors to her dog when I was eight or nine-years old," she recalled.
"I've been doing my own dogs for as long as I can remember, and did my first dog that wasn't mine maybe 20 years ago."
She said she's excited at the prospect of visiting the Northwest Territories, describing the opportunity as a "new adventure" for her.
According to a GoFundMe page set up by MacLean, Blew's visit is expected to run from June 19 to 25.
Between now and then, MacLean hopes to raise enough money to cover the cost of a return flight for Blew.
She estimates that cost to be around $2,000.
Fort Simpson, as well as surrounding communities, does not have any options when it comes to pet services.
The village has stopped receiving visits from a veterinarian and pet owners often have to travel to Yellowknife, Hay River or Fort Nelson for services such as grooming.
MacLean said she has already signed up nearly a dozen people for Blew's visit.
"I put it out on Facebook to see if people were interested and I had about 30 responses," she said.
The fundraiser came about from MacLean's own frustrations with keeping her dogs properly groomed.
Due to their poodle-type hair, they need to be cleaned regularly.
"It's a struggle to get them both to Yellowknife, because you have to book quite a bit ahead of time," she said.
She bought clippers to tackle her pets' fur when Yellowknife isn't an option, and said she has started to help other pet owners as well.
"There has been probably four dogs where I've had to remove pounds of mats off them, because they're not getting the assistance they need," she said.
"I'm not trained, but I've had other people come in and just beg to (groom) their dog because spring is coming and they need their hair cut and unmatted."
Blew said grooming is important because if it isn't done regularly, it can result in health problems.
