By Amy Palumbo-LeClaire

We weren’t necessarily looking for a new groomer. But sometimes the best things happen when you’re not looking.

“I think I know that dog.” The owner of a pet grooming service not far from my home noticed Luke behind the front desk at the local gym where I teach.  A hectic morning (with no one available to watch our most loyal family member) inspired the decision to take Luke along to my Tuesday morning Zumba class.   

“How do you manage to bring your dog to work?” I’ve been asked. “I grab his leash and go,” I’ve said. I’m someone who concentrates on all that can go right, versus all that could go wrong. On that Tuesday morning, the odds were stacked in my favor. Coloring outside of the lines proved worthwhile.  

“My ancestors may be from Scotland, but I swear I’m part Latino. These rhythms are in my bones.” A leashed Luke laid down comfortably, head over paws, while my Zumba students danced in the group fitness room.  I winked over at him every now as though to say, “thank you for being patient,” and he broke into smile. “Do the Ricky Martin song, Momma.” Dogs know who we are and love us unconditionally. Little did Luke know that he was about to meet  a person from his past.

“Luke? You’re at Zumba?” the groomer asked.

“Hey! What’s going on?” Luke wiggled and whimpered while he pretended to work behind the front desk. Dog Groomer and Happy Client reunited while I learned about the dog grooming salon located close to my gym. My mind connected convenient dots. I could drop Luke off, teach class, then come pick him up afterwards! This new dog groomer would be extremely compatible with my schedule! 

I wanted to acclimate Luke to the new place before his first Drop Off, so stopped in after class. “Look! A dog bed and stuffed animals!” Luke found the break room. “There are even pillows on the couch, just like at home!” Gone were the quivers of the past as he stepped into a dog-scented salon and buried his face in my lap. “I don’t want to go.” 

Still, had Luke grown a bit too comfortable with the cozy climate of this particular pet parlor? He hopped up on the shaggy pink couch designed, perhaps, for a freshly groomed poodle. 

“Be easy, Luke,” I commanded while he exposed a more confident side, thrashing a pillow back and forth.

The friendly groomer whose canine expertise dates back nearly 25 years, took Luke’s behavior in stride. “Do you want to see the grooming studio?” Luke stared up at his friend, a decorative pillow stuffed in his mouth. “I thought you’d never ask!” 

The prospective client sniffed around the floor, smiled and assumed his signature move, putting on the brakes when something felt wrong. “Your shop meets my standards, but I don’t want anything to do with that high table. I have a height trauma, triggered by a time when my parents, though well intentioned, allowed me to jump off the deck stairs. I wasn’t developmentally ready.” 

Thankfully the groomer, who reportedly has been “bit, peed on, barked at and pooped on,” comes to the grooming table with several years of experience. She studied Animal Science at Becker College, worked at Tufts University and, more recently, has spent time in the brush, bathe, shampoo, cut and nail trimming trenches.

  Luke, a happy client, thoroughly enjoyed his spa day experience, which included a blueberry bath, a traditional Golden Cut, specialized attention, and the Autumn patterned scarf which barely fit around his big head. 

My two-year-old Golden received an excellent report from his groomer. “Luke was a chill dog who goes with flow,” she said. “He’s very smart. He has a stubborn side, but he knows that haircuts and baths are part of life.”

What does Luke have to say about the diva treatment?

“It feels like home. And I highly recommend the shaggy sofa.”   

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