Earn while you pet and pamper

KOCHI: Once upon a time, animal lovers who wanted to make a career in pet caring flocked to veterinary hospitals. Not anymore. If you have a zest for the furry ones and if creativity flows naturally in your veins, then you need not mug up those big fat biology textbooks. There is another door open to you: Pet groomingPet grooming involves a variety of pet care activities like nail clipping, de-matting, de-shedding, pawdecure, shearing, dry grooming, nail polishing, etc. Pet grooming is especially popular among dog breeds  which need special hair cropping and designing like Poodle, Pekingese, Shih Tzu and Lhasa Apso. Pet grooming also looks at medicated care. This will include skin therapies against ticks and skin parasites.Dog shows are another avenue where the pet groomerise is in  demand. In Kochi, pet grooming  might not be as popular as it is in many other metros in the country. But the demand is surely on the rise. “In a place like Bangalore, grooming a dog for a dog show may earn you as much as Rs 3,000. Though here it has not risen to that level, the demand is surely on the rise,” said Cochin Pet Hospital, director, Dr Sooraj K. Owing to the demand the Cochin Pet Hospital is starting a new Pet Grooming Studio in the coming months. “As of now there are no specialised certificate courses for pet grooming. Recruitment will be mostly based on experience. People are also sent to pet salons in Mumbai and Chennai for gaining expertise. But at the end of the day what really matters is one’s attachment towards pets, patience and aesthetics,” said Sooraj K.