FARGO — Every 12 weeks or so, Tami Sirek drives 50 miles from Wahpeton to Fargo for something.
She takes JoJo, her 7-year-old black Pomeranian, for her regular bath, blowdry, nail-clip and trim with Jenne Lura at Ears to Rears Grooming, 1336 25th Ave. S.
Why take a 100-mile roundtrip to groom a small dog?
Because, Sirek says, Lura is the only one he trusts to work with JoJo. In the past, another groomer not only trimmed her beloved pet’s long top coat of guard hair, but also his short undercoat. It never grew.
JoJo was also so anxious about her previous grooming visits that she began to resent anyone who tried to groom her.
Then Sirek heard about Lura’s approach to Ears to Rears Grooming, a “low-stress” grooming business that opened its doors in October of ’22.
Lura uses a “one-on-one” approach in her small shop, which means only one dog is there from start to finish.
That means no other people bustling about, other dogs barking from kennels or a cacophony of blowdryers, clippers and ringing phones that can stress some nervous or sensitive dogs, Lura said.
“I like its calmness. There are no other dogs. He was not intimidated when he came here,” said Sirek, who brings Lura a Rice Krispie treat on this day to show her appreciation.
During a recent one-on-one session with the groomer, the only sounds were the country music Lura was listening to, the hum or clip of her grooming tools and Lura’s occasional impromptu chat with her four-legged clients. (“Do you know what perfume you want right now?” she coos to one dog. “You’re a vision.”)
Now JoJo indulges in Lura’s mud baths, which condition her skin and coat — both affected by a fateful grooming appointment as well as thyroid-related alopecia. Groomer and owner both think it helped moisturize her dry skin and even encouraged some hair.
Sirek also appreciated the pictures that Lura was texting him. “She sends me the cutest little pictures and I really appreciate that,” she said. “So we communicate with appointments via text messages, which is amazing.”
Tammy Swift / The Forum
Lura is one of the select few that JoJo likes. Now, Sirek has become so loyal to the groomer that when Ears to Rears’ growing client list needed to add a second groomer in the fall, Pom’s owner reached out to Lura to make sure she would still exclusively groom the his dog
“No one else will see JoJo,” Sirek said. “This has been a huge game-changer.”
Lura says she regularly gets that feedback from clients. “They’ll say it’s like night and day,” he said. “It’s so much less stressful for even me. Because you’re kind of in a fishbowl (at a typical grooming salon). They’re so much better behaved because there’s no barking dog. They’re one on one.”
Tammy Swift / The Forum
Lura grew up in Glyndon on a property close to a nature reserve and a farm. “You’d wake up in the morning and there would be 75 deer in the yard,” he recalled.
Like his father, he loves all kinds of animals and has a way with them. “I have always been absolutely crazy for animals. I always say grooming was the last thing I need to learn because I want to open a kind of sanctuary. I will name it Bed, Bath and Biscuit,” he said.
He owns many pets, ranging from “Archie,” a Jenday Conure parakeet who is so self-assured that he always eats out of the food bowl with the four cats, and a very bright Rottweiler named Sampson which responds to English, Spanish and hand commands. “Rotties are my heart,” he said. “He taught me so much.”
Chris Flynn / The Forum
Lura lived in Florida for 20 years, although she returned to the area in 2015 to study massage therapy. While here, he trained to be a groomer through Petco and began working there. He also became certified in canine massage.
A few years later, he returned to Florida to help a friend who needed heart surgery, but was able to transfer to another Petco to continue the repairs.
He discovered the appeal of one-on-one grooming by accident. In the midst of the COVID shutdown, he needed to find a way to pay his rent, so he started booking repair appointments in his apartment.
Not only do the dogs seem calmer in this quieter environment, she notices that she can groom faster without the distractions of a busy salon around her.
Chris Flynn / The Forum
When rent and expenses got too high in the South, he moved back to the Fargo area in 2021. With permission from his landlord, he set up again from his apartment.
Through word of mouth, the business grew to the point where he could rent a storefront for a year.
Chris Flynn / The Forum
Now, Lura repairs on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays while her employee, Stephanie Dockter, covers Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Dockter also has a friend who wants to learn to repair, so will join their team when his training is over.
Grooming usually starts at $60 for a small dog. Lura said she includes services that some salons only offer as upgrades as part of the basic Ears to Rears package, such as oatmeal shampoo, nail filing vs. nail-clipping and blueberry facials to remove unsightly “tear stains” from Fido’s face.
And she always shampoos her clients at least twice — or however many times it takes to get them clean.
“A dirty dog is a happy dog, but a clean dog is a happy owner,” he said, laughing.
Chris Flynn / The Forum
Lura helps ensure a quieter grooming environment by placing a sign by the door asking people not to knock or walk in during grooming appointments. “If the dog doesn’t startle, I’m going to startle. And if either of us jumps, they can jump or get nicked and that’s not good,” he said.
He also found techniques such as understanding a dog’s body language and projecting calm confidence can help calm an anxious animal. Lura is a big fan of celebrity dog trainer Cesar Millan, who recommends a firm, calm leadership style when working with pack animals like canines.
Although she let her dog massage certification lapse, Lura said she still uses the same brand of calming energy for dogs who are anxious or can’t settle down.
Chris Flynn / The Forum
Even with her experience and training, Lura says she’s met dogs who just don’t want to tolerate it.
However, most of the time, he sees his own emotional state as making all the difference. “If they’re going crazy, I have to look at myself and think, ‘Am I the cause of this?’ Sometimes, I’ll sit here and just breathe and take a minute and then come back to it, and usually they’re better. Your bad day is not their fault.”
The life of repair, he said, is not an easy profession. A typical day might involve lifting a 100-pound dog to the sink. This is not just a haircut, but a real “ears to rears” sometimes, which includes difficult work such as touching the feet (which most dogs do not like) and expressing the anal glands.
“I have tennis elbow in both arms. My back is a mess,” he said.
But he couldn’t imagine doing anything else now. “Even if it’s a hard dog — I would work on a hard dog because this is just happier for me. Even on a crappy day, it’s a happier day than if I would be working in an office.”
Moreover, it is a job with immediate rewards.
“I’m tickled when people come in and their dog is a mess and they come back and say, ‘Ohhhh!'” she said. “It just fills my heart.”
Contact Ears to Rears on Facebook or by calling 701-715-6835.
