Name: Christie Henriksen 
Employer: Uptown Pups, LLC
Job Title: Owner/National Certified Master Groomer
Years with current employer: November 2009 to Present
Educational Background: Christie learned dog grooming through one on one training with other groomers. She then joined the NDGAA and completed their Master Groomer course.
Job Description: Christie is a full time, self-employed Master Groomer that booth rents at a grooming shop. She specializes in salon style appointments and has anywhere from 4 to 10 dogs come in throughout the day. She trims and files nails, expresses anal glands, plucks hair out of ears and cleans them. She also bathes and dries the dogs by hand. Once the dogs are clean, it depends on whether they are just bath and brushes or if they need a haircut. For bath and brushes, she trims their hair and brushes out all the undercoat. For dogs that require haircuts (Poodles, Kerry Blues, Shih-Tzus, etc.) She brushes and fluffs out the coat and trims their hair to the owners’ liking. She then sprits cologne and adds a bow for girls and a bandana for boys.
Favorite Component of Job: Christie states, “I can’t pin point one. I love when the dogs get picked up and they are so excited to see their owner. I love seeing the transformation of a dirty dog to a clean one, it’s fun to make a dog look its best and even more exciting when you can tell they feel good.”
Least Favorite Component of Job: Christie admits, she doesn’t enjoy grooming neglected dogs or loosing clients due to death.
A Special Experience or Story about Her Job: Christie states, “I have some dogs that can’t go anywhere else to get groomed. Other groomers can’t groom them because they are too aggressive or need drugs to calm them down. For some reason they do well with me.”
Christie’s Recommendations to Those Interested in a Career Similar to Her Own: Christie recommends go to the following website: www.ndgaa.com
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