VAL PENSTONE, DIRECTOR OF GROOMING
To Val Penstone, styling a pet is "creating a small work of art.""You need good hand-eye coordination and heaps of patience," says Best Friends Pet Care's Director of Grooming. "And it helps to be artistic.

Penstone, who has competed in and judged contests at the national, and even, international level, didn't set out to have a career in grooming. Raised on a small farm in England, she grew up doing animal care chores and expecting to pursue a career in farming or veterinary work. Her first jobs were working as a nurse, receptionist and practice manager in animal hospitals that also provided boarding and grooming.

Penstone first become involved in grooming because she was cross trained to help in the salon at one of the hospitals, and found she had a talent for it. And, she adds, "even then, grooming paid better than most other jobs in the animal field."

Learning by Doing
At that time, says Penstone, there were no grooming schools. "Most of my training was on-the-job experience. I read all the dog magazines and went to dog shows. Some breed books had a paragraph or two on grooming."

Eager to learn and grow in her field, Penstone attended as many seminars and workshop programs and grooming contests as she could get to. "For almost twenty years, I traveled to state, national and international shows -- at first, competing and attending seminars, and later, judging, speaking and demonstrating. Nothing is more educational than having an open mind and listening to every one in the business that may be able to share something valuable."

After several years of animal hospital and retail pet shop experience, she opened her own shop in England. When she moved to the U.S. in the 1970s, she again "paid her dues" working in a range of animal hospitals, grooming salons and retail outlets before opening her own shop in Yonkers, New York.

By the early 1990s, however, she had tired of the demands of small business ownership and jumped at the chance to take a leadership position in a large organization. She joined Best Friends to direct the growing company's grooming services. In that role, she has been responsible for establishing the policies and guidelines for the professional groomers at Best Friends 40 locations nationwide.

"I saw the opportunity to utilize my broad experience in a new and different way. There had never been a chain of this kind before, and here I would have the opportunity to help determine how the grooming portion of the business should be grown and developed. It's exciting to be in a position to help influence the direction of our industry."

Although she enjoys the demands and responsibilities of management, Penstone says she found great reward in hands-on work. "What I liked best was interacting with the animals. It's great to just make a messy animal clean and comfortable," she says. "The customer's gratitude also contributes to the job satisfaction. People trust you with their 'Best Friend', and are loyal for years."

Over the years, she has also found great satisfaction in teaching. "Helping other people learn a great career is terrific," she says. She treasures the letters and notes she has received from groomers whom she has helped to train during her long career.

Over the year, Penstone has received numerous industry awards, including being voted grooming "Personality of the year" by the readership of a leading magazine. She was selected as the first recipient of the "Intergroom" prestigious Mary Bucklew memorial award.

Getting Started
Grooming is a demanding career that takes stamina and dedication to succeed, says Penstone. "My advice to anyone starting out would be to get a broad training in animal care and basic grooming, before getting into haircutting and styling. It takes time to learn handling and brushing skills, let alone how to use clippers and shears."

"After that you should take every opportunity to learn," she says. "From buddy training with a more experienced stylist, to seminars and workshops, to video and home study, to a school course. There are countless ways to hone your skills and master stylist status."

Of course, it's also important to love animals. Penstone has a household full of pets to keep her busy: Athene, a 17-year-old toy poodle; Chloe, a standard poodle; Ms. Marples, a miniature hedgehog; Linkie, the alleycat; Kiki the Himalayan; Roo, the rabbit; Flaky, the cockatoo; the Budgie-Boys, two parakeets; and several tanks of fish.