Pet groomer from Ontario, Canada, Vanessa De Prophetis, shares on TikTok the highs and lows of her occupation, including tips on dog training and proper brushing starting from bottom to top, and also, the closeness that she develops with her pet visitors.
De Prophetis said that pet groomers become knowledgeable about the pets’ preferences and physical characteristics such as the location of every mole or scar. They can pinpoint behavioral changes which, at times, turn out to be life-saving or indicative of a health issue that needs attention.
In one post that generated over 2 million views, De Prophetis emotionally mentions about final visits, when dog parents decide it’s their dogs’ farewell groom due to advanced age. Sometimes, she requests it after seeing how the session has become too exhausting for the dogs. She said she sometimes cries the entire time while doing the final sessions, seeing how the dogs struggle so much.
“When you ask us to give your pet an end-of-life groom, we always say yes but we want to say no,” De Prophetis said, “It’s physically exhausting for them…I wish more people understood this.”
She also laments about parents who dismiss their health-related observations because they’re not vets. She says it’s distressing for them to see the pets suffer during the sessions. De Prophetis asserts that if one cannot afford a vet, then it’s best that he or she shouldn’t adopt.