When a mental health disability left her daughter without any career options, Jennifer Bishop-Jenkins created a job for her.
On May 3, she opened a pet grooming business in Glencoe, Love Fur Dogs, to give her 20-year-old daughter Amanda a future, and a vocational school within it, Bishop Grooming Academy, to teach her how to groom dogs and cats. In the process, the retired history teacher aims to help other bright individuals with disabilities gain marketable job skills.
“They will be highly employable when they finish,” she says. “The grooming business is always short of employees. There is an estimated 23,000 empty grooming jobs in the U.S. now. It’s sort of recession-proof. Five years ago, numbers went up as people stopped doing high-end things, like traveling to Europe, and turned their attention more to home, family and pets.”
She says the pay is comparable to that of teachers and police officers.
Although grooming doesn’t require a college degree, it takes months of training and not just anybody can do it, she says. The perfect candidate is patient and calm while handling animals, and can work safely with sharp tools.
Among the first certified master groomers in the country, Jenkins had a successful career in the field before she became a teacher.
Since retiring in 2005, Jenkins, 56, taught grooming at an Arlington Heights school. Oftentimes, she brought along Amanda, who had nothing to do because her disability, which she developed in high school, scrapped her plans for college.
Directionless, Amanda grew despondent while her concerned mom searched for occupations to suit her. After two years of looking, Jenkins was disappointed that the only option was arranging flowers.
A turning point came when Amanda asked her, “Why don’t you teach me how to groom? I’d love it.”
The instant she replied, “I can’t teach you. We don’t have any dogs to work on,” she realized that she could open a grooming business and training facility.
The schedule is flexible, the work is therapeutic, and it allows Jenkins to spend more time with Amanda, who now has hope for the future.
This innovative mom learned that you cannot rely on other people to provide what you need for your child.
“If you cannot find something for them to do, find what it is they can do that they love, and help to create an activity for them that is meaningful,” she says.
Visit Love Fur Dogs at its new home in Hubbard Woods Plaza in Glencoe. Jenkins and her team offer a full array of grooming services, as well as day care and pet taxi pick up and delivery. For more information, call 847-LUV-DOGS.
