While working in Middle Georgia, I kept thinking about the trust placed in a groomer’s hands. People could enter the profession without consistent access to comprehensive training, even as the work asked them to handle living, feeling animals. I believed that responsibility deserved a deeper public conversation about preparation, education, and professional expectations.

In 2019, I carried that conviction into action and launched a public petition: “Create a Pet Grooming Licensing Requirement for Georgia.” It gathered 425 supporters before closing. At its heart was a simple belief I still hold: dogs deserve care shaped by knowledge, preparation, and respect for the individual animal.

Grooming is more than a haircut. It is a close encounter with a living being—with its own needs, sensitivities, and ways of communicating. The decisions made in that encounter can shape a dog's comfort and welfare. I wanted those realities to be taken seriously in conversations about education and accountability at the state level.

My advocacy continued beyond the petition. In August 2021, correspondence associated with me and the Georgia Association of Pet Groomers concerning pet-grooming regulations and licensing was recorded in the official minutes of the Georgia State Board of Veterinary Medicine. I share this as part of the record of my advocacy—not as a claim that it produced a law or a particular regulatory outcome, but as a moment when the conversation reached a public forum.

I understand that meaningful regulatory change is complicated. Licensing proposals deserve careful consideration, and professional standards should protect animals while creating fair, practical pathways for people to enter the profession, develop their abilities, and continue learning.

I have never wanted to make the path harder for its own sake. I want to help make it better: meaningful education and mentorship for those entering the field; room for experienced professionals to share what their hands and years have taught them; and clear information for the people who entrust us with their dogs. Standards should grow from those same values—competence, accountability, and animal welfare.

Middle Georgia was where a concern became action. Advocacy asked me to speak up, bring the question to public institutions, and stay present to a conversation that takes time. That work is one thread in the larger story of OneDog Wellness.

At the table, I care for the individual dog. Beyond it, I want to help nurture a profession with stronger roots in education and respect—so the next generation can carry the work forward with knowledge, skill, and care.