Amber Settle feels at peace alone in her grooming shop. With
soft country music playing in the background, she picked up little
Ernie, who had been yapping away in her cage for the last half
hour.
Amber Settle feels at peace alone in her grooming shop.
With soft country music playing in the background, she picked up little Ernie, who had been yapping away in her cage for the last half hour.
“You can’t see her like this,” Settle said as she put her on the table and began to brush out a knot in the hair on her head.
The little yorkshire terrier seemed pretty happy. She had stopped complaining and looked content now that she finally was getting the attention she deserved.
On this day, All of the dogs at the Groom ‘N Boutique, 110 Luchessa Ave., seemed to be in good spirits. Odie, a ranch dog making his third visit to the groomer, actually seemed to smile when Settle ran the high-powered air blower on his hair. It usually takes a while to get used to the machine, but Settle said one the dogs get used to it, it feels a lot like a massage.
“The work here is close and nice and cuddly,” she said. “I ask them to trust me.I’ve become quite close with some of my clients. They work their way into your heart.”
Settle earns the trust of the pets that come to see her by listening to their signals. She said pets will tell owners a lot of things if they are willing to listen, which is the idea behind her new goal: to show owners how to become closer to their pets.
“What I’m starting to go for is not just a full-service salon but an education center,” she said. “Owners don’t know how to interact with their dogs. Nobody has informed them.”
Settle grew up around animals, especially horses, as a child and always felt at peace with them. She said that shares a feeling of what animals are trying to say to her, and she often finds herself talking with the pets that come in to be groomed.
“I was raised by wolves, so to speak,” she said. “I understand (animals) more than I understand people. “They are better than people. They are unconditional.”
Now Settle wants to pass on some of her knowledge, as well as bring in other experts, to help owners learn more about getting the most out of life with their dog or cat.
“We brought them into our world,” she said. “It’s our job to go into theirs. There’s just so much that owners don’t know about. I want to be on their side.”
Settle hopes that breeders, trainers, veterinarians and animal shelter employees will join her to help owners learn to understand their pets.
Settle got the idea for teaching pet care classes from Mary Lucy Gibson at the Small Business Center two years ago.
Settle has been grooming pets for 18 years now, and has owned the Groom ‘N Boutique for the last three years. In that time, she has learned that dogs show signs when they are in pain or when they are uncomfortable. She has groom more than 10 Bay Area dog show competitors, including the 1998 working dog champion Uros, a newfoundland.
However, in that time Settle also has learned that some dogs are not treated very well, and show her that in their form of communication.
Settle said that when owners fail to listen to their pets, they quit trying to communicate these signals and become hostile.
“After a while they stop showing those signs or get nasty,” she said.
Settle is now changing the name of her shop to “The Hair of the Dog” and has sent letters out to her clients’ owners to try and gain interest for the classes, which she hopes to start running soon.
Her goal is to have a one-hour weekly class lasting about eight weeks and covering topics from basic pet health to grooming, breeding and overall happiness of both the pet and owner. She hasn’t decided on a cost for the class yet.
Settle said the only way to get the most from a pet is to understand them.
“Most people want ‘Lassie,’ ” she said. “We want them to be a part of the family.”
For more information about taking Settle’s pet care class call 847-2336.
