A Life-Long Love of Animals Breeds New Opportunities

Christina Lough, a January 2022 graduate of The Grooming Project, said one of things she likes most about working as a groomer at The Salon in Lee’s Summit is the creativity to adapt a breed’s standard cut to a dog’s particular facial features. “What’s considered a...

Modeling What’s Possible

Aware of her own potential, The Salon manager, Christine Banks (left), wants to show other graduates of The Grooming School how to embrace opportunity. When 26-year-old Christine Banks was selected to the inaugural class of The Grooming Project in 2016, she was a...

A Cut Above

Andy Wiltz plays with dogs at Woof’s Play & Stay. KC area employers embrace training program and skills of graduates ready to start their career. By Andrea Byrne If anyone knows how challenging it can be to hire a good dog groomer, it’s owners and managers...

A Bright Future Set in Motion by Boss’ Kindness

By Rebecca Smith You’d be hard-pressed to find a story that better illuminates the life-changing effect of The Grooming Project than that of Kylie Stevens. A recent graduate (April 2021), Kylie’s world right now is one she can barely have imagined a few years ago. She...

Dogs as Healers

How pet grooming can lessen the effects of trauma on humans By Betty Jean Curran When Annie started the program, she was terrified. After spending years living in a trailer with her abusive boyfriend and three children, miles away from any neighbors, she couldn’t...

Rerouting for a Better Future

By Kelly Scanlon When 35-year-old Jeanne Dennison, a recent graduate of The Grooming Project, lost custody of her daughters two years ago, she was facing a long prison sentence for drugs and weapons possession. Losing her children turned out to be a critical turning...