October is a month to fall for! This amazing month is filled with pumpkin spice, scary costumes and fun for furred and family friends! The annual harvest time of year bring with it a new batch of students to American Grooming Academy but this month as the leaves and weather is changing we celebrate change of another kind!

Zarren Pasa. 60 years old. Business Owner.

“When I get these particular potential students, I get very excited!” Instructor Kat Marchant says of first talking to Zarren. “I want those people who have had the hard job of not being surrounded by animals to feel the way I’ve felt my whole career.”

Growing up in the northern state of Montana, Zarren understood the love of animals. He grew up in his family run Pet shop, understanding that pets just make people happy. When he moved to California, some 25 years ago, he always had in the back of his mind to work with animals again, but life had something else planned for him.

He began a very successful janitorial cleaning company for large businesses. When the recession hit him hard 8 years ago, clients who were struggling, changed and had their own employees cleaning to cut costs, resulting in many large losses for his company. With that in mind, he had to look for a career change. Something that he could train for in a relatively short period of time and could turn into a successful business following training.  The pet grooming business seemed like the answer for Zarren.

His decision to come to AGA was an easy one, although he did get much more than he prepared himself for! He originally searched for a Grooming School online.  Even though there seemed to be a few Mom and Pop schools training, he was most interested in AGA because of its close proximity to his home and its State accreditation by the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education for the state of California. When Zarren toured to school, he was impressed with the schools set up and the friendliness of the students and staff.  Also, on that day, there was an older female student bathing a dog in the bathing room and that made Zarren comfortable knowing that he was not the only 50 something considering a career change to pet styling. When Zarren became accustom to the day to day of education at AGA,  he figured out what was the hardest part about training,

“I truly think that the hardest thing to learn in training is dealing with the temperament of different dogs.  I guess that, I blindly walked into training thinking that they were all going to stand like Westminster Show Dogs on the table and let you groom them.  Learning how to conduct the groom without allowing the dog to take over the grooming process due to your own demeanor and handling is really an art.  I do however complement the curriculum at AGA for centering in on animal behavior and in particular BREED BEHAVIOR in the in-depth study of the AKC recognized breeds.”

He also understood that time and patients would help him overcome fears he had when beginning academy, resulting in one truly awesome day! “My best day was definitely about a month before I completed my training.  I set the pattern and groomed a beautiful West Highland Terrier.  When complete, Angela Clark congratulated me on the groom and told me that he truly looked like a Show Dog.  I was so proud and said to myself … ‘Yes Zarren …. You CAN do this!’”

Zarren has decided that he will work for a pet stylist for a time while his training and his curriculum kick in without having to be remembered, to a point where he just does what he needs to do to get a beautiful and happy client. We asked Zarren what was one of the things he did not realize he would be learning at academy?

“I was so amazed that I mastered the 7 breed groups of AKC.  I can’t even begin to tell you how much the study guides helped in learning the breeds and testing for them.

There was not one class/skype lecture that I did not enjoy and I learn some great stuff!  Thanks again Kat!”

Zarren did amazing at academy, not only helping his fellow peers but always making sure he was engaged in lecture, present during demonstrations, and giving 110 percent. Learning is a hard thing to do and we applaud career minded people that become “green” again. American Grooming Academy has people of all ages, races, ethics and learning styles, making us a perfect choice for those looking for something else. Whether that something else is a new career a new “Mid Life” career or something you’ve always wanted to do, AGA has the program for you. You’re never too old to start believing in yourself! Call or walk into AGA today to see if this amazing career is what you’ve been waiting for!

LOVE HALLOWEEN?

Bring your pet in this month for the Creature Comfort add on spa package and be automatically entered into our pet Halloween costume contest! This add on package can be added to any bath or groom package and includes:Includes:

• Orange Slime Shampoo (pumpkin)
• Ghost Conditioner
• BOOOOO Berry Facial
• FANG-brushing
• FREE Creature Pet Toy!
• All for only $13.99

Plus your pet will be dressed in a costume after their bath or groom and will be uploaded to Facebook and Instagram! Votes will be tallied on October 31st! Winner will receive their choice of $50.00 visa gift card or $50.00 Lazy Dog gift card!