Check out this great story from Andrea Cyrill, a Learn2GroomDogs.com Member! Thank you for sharing your journey with us, and we’re happy to have helped you achieve your dream.
When Andrea Cyrill Khurana started her dog grooming career, she was one of two dog groomers in Mumbai, India. Andrea had a passion to learn and take care of dogs, but to do so, she would have to be a trailblazer for the grooming industry in India.
“Grooming doesn’t happen a lot in India,” she said. “It’s isn’t a huge industry yet.”In 2008, she attended a grooming school in Australia to get her certification and returned to India. Initially, Andrea ran a mobile grooming van in India, and throughout her business, she refined her skills by using Paragon’s Learn2GroomDogs.com video streaming service.
Today, 12 years later, Andrea runs a grooming school, salon and boarding kennel. Andrea said that she uses Learn2GroomDogs.com videos in her classes to teach her students when appropriate for the lesson.“I’ve been a subscriber since 2008, and I keep using it,” Andrea said. “Most of the time I use it for schooling. They just have so many fun things to watch and to learn. It’s really helpful.”
Andrea said she has a desire to grow the industry and love for dogs in her area, but the education can be difficult to get, and this is why Learn2GroomDogs.com has been a valuable resource to her personal career, her students and her business.
“It’s not easy for us to go to Australia or U.S. because of money and time constraints, there is a lot of problems we face,” She said. “I’m really grateful there is a place to go and find stuff that is relevant to us. Mellissa is doing an awesome job. It’s a godsend.”
Over the last dozen years, Andrea has seen dog grooming grow, making a positive environment for groomers to be for healthy competition but also learning off each other and bouncing ideas back and forth on new styles and ways of grooming.
“All the groomers love animals, dogs or cats,” Andrea said. “We are bound together for our love and passion for animals. We all have something in common, we all are following our hearts.” Andrea now has founded the Professional Pet Groomers Association of India (PPGAI) in order to regulate grooming standards and build up grooming in the country.
“There are many groomers now who have not gone to school for grooming,” Andrea said. “(The PPGAI is) So we can support our peers, educate our clients, support system to see this through,” she said. “We take pride in this, we educate ourselves, spend money, time and energy educating ourselves, and some people (who aren’t educated groomers) mess it up for everyone, that’s not right.”
Andrea hopes to see dog grooming expand in India, as well as see the PPGAI grow in order to ensure the dogs are safe and healthy and to continue expanding positive care for dogs across the country.