Carefully grooming around a benign tumor!

A Groomer With A Disability Specializing in Pets with Disabilities

By Cass Lambert

On November 1, 2009 I started my own pet home grooming company called Vanity with Humanity Pet Grooming Services in Bowmanville, Ontario. This is due to the fact that I have several medical illnesses that have required me to endure chemotherapy treatments and surgery many times in the last eight years and it would be easier to work from home.. Many of them are auto immune related. The side effects of all these treatments can be more dangerous than the illnesses they seek to control causing weight loss, weight gain, colitis, hair loss, nausea, vomiting, heart, liver damage and worse. I am also more susceptible to colds, flu’s and other illnesses. Due to colitis, even taking an antibiotic for one day risks my life and unfortunately causes me to miss work. They seem very patient however and simply reschedule as many of them personally or their pets have disabilities and so are very understanding.



I was referred to a Pain Doctor to control the debilitating pain these illness cause although I had enjoyed a training career for over ten years it was becoming to much. I successfully attended a grooming academy and was very surprised at how hard it was! See I have worked with many different species of animals and non animals throughout my entire life as a trainer. I have trained everything from hamsters to horses as I study animal ethology or how animals learn as a lifelong hobby and am even working towards my BA.



Animal ethology is defined as being the scientific study of animal behaviour, especially as it occurs in a natural environment. I have always held a particular interest in aggression as a behavioural process rather than in a particular animal group and often study one type of behaviour in a number of unrelated species. I find understanding how animals think and learn crucial to being a successful and humane groomer. I also share my home with a number of pets including (current at the time of publication only) 5 cats, 3 dogs, a rabbit, a tank of vicious fish (including Jack the homicidal Cichlid) and a horse. On really hard days these pets offer so much to me. Inspiration to get out of bed and feed them, motivation to keep moving and of course unconditional love.



The greatest challenge I face with a permanent disability is coping with the daily and sometimes hourly changes of my condition. I have Severe Pelvic Nerve Neuropathy. I had been in such severe pain for so long it caused severe, irreparable and incurable damage to the nerve endings in my pelvis. The bad news is there is no cure and my doctors are not even sure how to treat it and only know that it may end in my complete reliance on a wheelchair or worse with in a few years time. The worse news is it causes debilitating pain. Unfortunately nerve pain cannot be managed by any pain medications including the strongest of narcotic medications. On days I wake up and cannot walk or move my fingers it can be difficult to get started and get to work. On these days I am very grateful and always surprised at how empathetic my furry clients are! They always seem to respect my slow and sore motions on bad days. Another way I cope with this challenge is by building a repeat client list full of kind, good and understanding dogs and people. I specialize in pets with disabilities however also groom all breeds of cats and dogs and offer nail trims for small pets. These pets may have diabetes, tumours, arthritis, behavioural issues such as fear aggression and my experience training, empathy and handling offers both the pet and the client peace of mind!



One of the most unfortunate challenges I face every day is that people sometimes are very prejudiced towards a person with a disability and assume they cannot do anything. That is simply not true. With the support of my community and accommodations in the workplace, and positive attitude a person coping with a disabling condition can accomplish anything.