Groomed for success

The fur flies when Marcia Simmons works.

Her clients register any complaints with yips, yowls and the occasional whine — and their satisfaction with slobbery kisses.

Simmons clips and trims companion animals as the owner and stylist of Canine Design Grooming Studio, 104 E. Seventh St.

She started as a groomer after she graduated from Smith-Cotton High School.

“I learned on my own, and as an apprentice at other groomers,” she said.

She attends at least one seminar every year to keep up on the latest techniques and equipment.

In her shop, pets wait patiently in carriers for their turn in the tub or on the table.

Each pet gets two baths, one for cleanliness and one with a specialty shampoo suited to their specific needs.

“There’s always a shampoo that makes the fur do what I want it to do,” she said, whether it’s moisturize or stiffen to make clipping easier.

She uses a special wash system she made out of a sump pump, patterned after a commercial system. The animals also get an aromatherapy facial.

The drying time and method vary by animal.

An industrial dryer gets one of her clients — a Chow mix with the thick coat characteristic of its parentage — from dripping to dry in about 10 minutes, she said.

Then it’s up on the hydraulic grooming table so Simmons can trim, shave and brush coats. She has a special vacuum system with a clipper attachment that sucks away the hair as she trims.

She also cuts toenails at the owner’s request. She does not do flea dips.

Cody, a Himalayan cat, comes in about every three months for grooming.

He largely cooperates — he tries to crawl away no more than half-heartedly — as he gets blown dry and brushed out. His fluff falls to the tabletop and floor as Simmons wields her many combs and brushes.

A spritz or two, and Cody is ready to go.

Cody’s owner, Tom Conroy, said the cat does well during his trips to Simmons’ shop.

“He doesn’t mind getting wet, so his bath and grooming are good,” he said.

Simmons “does a good job, likes animals,” he said.

Not all of her clients are as even-tempered as Cody. She said she gets bitten “about once a month,” usually when she lets her guard down with an animal she knows.

Some of her clients, like Mingo, a gray-and-white Shih Tzu, love their appointments.

His owner, Jenein Sinclair, said he knows when he’s on his way to see Simmons, and gets excited as soon as the car rounds the corner.

“He loves to come here,” she said.

A client since puppyhood, Mingo stood happily for Simmons on Thursday as she worked on his coat.

“Marci is good. She loves the dogs. She goes on your schedule, not hers,” said Sinclair. Simmons allows longtime clients to drop off dogs early or pick them up late in the day, depending on their work schedules, and calls when they’re done.

Sinclair praised Simmons’ rapport with the animals.

“If you stand back and watch her with the dogs, that’s her,” she said.

Simmons said some of the dogs become protective of her and the shop.

“I have one Airedale that if another one is giving me a hard time, he’ll growl” at it, she said.

Much of her job is about ridding cats and dogs of mats, burs and other uncomfortable items lodged in their coats.

She bought her shop four years ago and has built a regular clientele. Simmons primarily sees long-term clients, but accepts new ones on referral.

She said she gets a lot of calls from owners in spring.

“They mow the yard and remember, ‘Oh, there’s a dog back here,’” she jokes.

She charges for a session based on the size of the dog and the condition of its coat.

Difficult cases can get expensive.

“I’ll explain to them, ‘You know, it’ll cost you the same if you take them in two times a year’ ” instead of one, she said.

Some, such as Simmons’ own standard poodle, dislike their visits.

Simmons said the poodle, Rayven, knows she will be at the shop for the full day when it’s her turn, about once every four to six weeks.

“She doesn’t like it. I have to drag her through the door,” she said.

Simmons said her one-woman operation leads her to talk to the animals. She joked they don’t mind her sense of humor.

“I’m here alone all day with the dogs, so I end up talking to them all day,” she said.

Simmons as a groomer both in Missouri and while she lived in North Carolina. She worked for a veterinarian and at a kennel, which she said she didn’t like as much.

“I realized then that I liked working with dogs, making them feel better and look better,” she said.

Simmons worked in graphic design for a few years, but came back to the animal world.

“I just really love dogs,” she said. “To me, they’re just God’s gift to us and I enjoy taking care of them.”