Betty Clark
Certified 9/29/97
 

Well Nancy, you have done it again!  You have helped another person accomplish their dream.  I have always wanted to work with animals and they have always been a part of my life, but my career involved working with people, not animals.  Several years ago I found a test that I had taken in Junior High that tested aptitude for different careers.  I scored 95% in animal care but pursued a nursing career instead. (That score was only 60%.)  So why should I be surprised that as I approach midlife I am not satisfied with my nursing career and still want to work with animals.
     I had a big dream that involved opening a business that incorporated grooming, boarding and training of dogs and leaving my nursing career behind.  I could see the final product in my mind, but wasn’t sure how to start taking the steps to get there.  When I began investigating how to start the journey toward that dream I found Diamond Cut Dog Grooming School.  When I started I knew that I loved dogs, but I didn’t know the first thing about dog grooming!  I remember wondering if I would ever even be able to get the blades on the clipper without help.  But with Nancy’s patience and my persistence, I did learn and have loved every minute of it.  Because of my work schedule and some health problems, it has taken almost a year for me to complete the course.
     As I look back, it is hard to believe all that I have learned.  The best part is that my big dream has already started its journey in a small way.  Nancy’s husband and son have a construction business and converted my basement bathroom into a grooming shop.  Now Paws Home Grooming, Inc. operates part time out of my home and I couldn’t be happier.
     Thank you Nancy for loving dogs, for loving teaching and for caring about helping your students accomplish their dreams.  If your dream is as small as learning to groom your own dog, as big as owning your own shop, or anything in between, Diamond Cut Dog Grooming School can help you get there.  Enjoy Your Journey!

Kathy Miller
 

  It has been a fast, knowledge filled, fun year.  The travel from Cleveland to Medina was a pleasure.  I knew that once at Diamond Cut, the time would be filled with learning and fun.
     I found the classes to be planned in a pace that allows for development of all of the skills needed in grooming.  The planning started the week before with scheduling of the dogs that were to be groomed.  Although, some classes had multiple students, direct supervision was given when needed.  I came to know some of the dogs on a personal level which allowed me to become familiar with the different personalities of the animals.  This knowledge is needed in handling the aggressive dog.
     I learned the proper use of clippers.  Before I knew it, I could cut with either hand!
 What an accomplishment!  Nancy McClain, my instructor, taught this with so much ease that I don’t remember it’s learning.
     The program also consisted of product familiarity and use.  Nancy did this without actually promoting a particular product.  At the end of the course I learned to order supplies that will be used in my new career.
     I had the opportunity to observe Ms. McClain handle the difficult client.  This technique will come in handy as I start to work with customers.  Thanks, Nancy!
     I can say that watching Ms. McClain operate was beneficial in many ways.  Her teaching skills are so well honed, that they are imparted without any fuss and muss.  You learn while you enjoy your time in the shop.
     It is unfortunate that not everyone is willing to share their knowledge of a skill with others.  Nancy McClain is ready to share her skills with all that are ready to learn them.

Skip Astrop
 

     I became interested in dog grooming one day when I took my own dog into a little shop called “Lynda’s” to be groomed.  I thought it was just so neat.  My first thoughts as I walked into her shop were “Wow, so this is how it is done.”  I noticed a table with bright lights around it and above it and standing in the middle was  a beautiful, large poodle.  This poodle looked like something out of Hollywood.  Her shop was so cozy and neat and clean.  Her cages were full of fluffy groomed dogs, and best of all, her shop was attached to her house.  I thought “Boy, this would be the life.”  I had been a Dental Assistant for the past 19 years and I was always gone.  I never got to see my kids get on or off the school bus, never got to plan a nice meal for dinner, everything was always RUSH, RUSH, RUSH!  
     I had finally found something that struck my interest.   I could make money grooming dogs and be at home to care for my family at the same time.  I had slowly burnt out on Dental Assisting, doing the same thing over and over and over, day after day after day.  One night my husband was reading the Akron Beacon Journal.  He said “Hey Jan, you said you were interested in dog grooming.  Well, here’s an ad for a school in Medina.”  
     I immediately called the number and a lady named Nancy answered the phone.  She made me feel so welcome and I was so-o-o excited about getting started.  I was just a little nervous because I didn’t know what to expect.  “What should I wear?”   “Will there be 10 other people in my class?”  Then the big question everyone worries about when starting a new job or going to a new school… “ Who will I sit by at lunch?”  
     When I arrived at Nancy’s school she met me at the door and introduced me to her whole family and all her animals and made me so relaxed.  Little did I know that I would be the only student.  I was thrilled to death when she told me that it would be one on one teaching.  She took my information and we got started.  My lessons were 8 hours long and every time I left I couldn’t wait to go back.  I couldn’t wait to learn this new trade and I knew deep down that this is what I really wanted to do.  Nancy was very thorough and she praised and complimented me very time I did something.  She made me feel very confident and convinced me that I was going to be a very successful , professional dog groomer.  
     Well, many, many, many months went by.  I did all my home work, studied my books, took my tests and worked very hard at my new career and made it all the way through dog grooming school.  I had a few ups and downs also.  There was a time when I got a very stinky, matted, mean, skunked dog.  Nancy watched very carefully as I began to work on the dog.  She did not say a word, until she saw me ready to pull my hair out after one solid hour of trying to comb out this HEAVILY matted coat.  I looked at her almost in tears and said “Nancy, what do I do?”  She was testing me, to see which way I was going to go with this.  She explained to me that the key to successful grooming is COMMON SENSE.  Without this, you will get nowhere!
     From that moment on I was a changed person.  I listened carefully to Nancy’s instructions and I would take it from there.  I felt more and more confident with every dog she would throw at me.  I knew I was going to groom that dog and what he would look like when he was finished before I even started.  It is so true!  If you use common sense, you will succeed!  People aren’t that picky!  If you put a cute little face on that dog and proportion the rest of his body (according to the proper clip for that type of dog) people are going to love it!
     I learned to always be very friendly to your customers and especially to their  dogs, do your very best on the grooming and your can’t go wrong.
     I have opened up my own dog grooming business and I now have 25 of my very own customers.  People seem very pleased when they leave my shop, they always say they  will be back, they are spreading the word and referring more and more people to me and this is very rewarding to me.  This tells me that I am a good groomer and that I was taught very well.  So I must be doing right.  My vision is coming true.  I now have my own little shop with the bright lights and tables and dogs in the cages and yep! It’s attached to my house.  So I can have my little business and watch my family grow at the same time!
     So don’t give up!  Keep  pushing yourself through school.  And most of all … listen to Nancy!  She really does know what she is talking about!!!

Janet Barber