groomed for success

By STEPHEN SIFF
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
VIENNA -- The Mahoning and Shenango valleys have some particularly sharp-looking dogs.
Not by coincidence, either.
By some quirk of culture or geography, (or maybe just all the springtime mud) fixtures in the dog grooming industry are fixed here, or near to here.
"It is something people don't talk about," said Christina Pawlosky, owner of Pet Connection in Howland, who was named grooming judge of the year for the fourth time at a national trade show in April. "We have a lot of people with dogs, and if you ask your friends, they will say they go to a pet groomer."
Grooming connections
The area has grooming connections beyond the salons at pet superstores, the mom-and-pop shops and the new mobile grooming salons.
Best Shot Pet Products in Akron markets pet shampoo to professionals and pet owners. To the east, in Indiana, Pa., M.D.C. Romani Inc., makes the Clipper Vac, a popular grooming salon tool to suck up hair as its being cut.
The oldest, and largest, trade organization for pet groomers, the National Dog Groomers Association of America Inc. is based in Hermitage, Pa. The group boasts 2,500 members, from an industry with about 25,000 to 35,000 practitioners, said Jeffrey Reynolds, association executive director.
"They [groomers] are all over the country," Reynolds said. "You can find them from coast to coast."
When a good groom goes wrong, the industry's largest insurer also is in the area.
In Vienna
Gibson Governor Insurance in Vienna began offering specialized groomer insurance since 1986. The business has expanded dramatically over the past five years. The company now has three agents specializing in pet policies, and company president Bob Thompson said they hit about a dozen industry trade shows a year.
What started as a minor sideline has, since 1999, become one of the company's biggest areas of growth, he said. The company writes about 800 to 1,000 new policies a year, and is licensed for business in 48 states.
The business lately got a boost from the proliferation of mobile grooming vans -- $60,000 to $80,000 customized vehicles that some companies are reluctant to insure, Thompson said.
The pooch-friendly policies include the regular aspects of a business policy, plus provisions to cover the bills if an animal is injured or injures someone else.
Nightmare situations include vet bills from dog fights, escapes, bites and dog-car accidents. The company has paid claims on all of these, Thompson said.
"Everyone thinks they don't need it until they have a claim," Thompson said.
siff@vindy.com