DONNA CANNON -- Working

SHE IS

A hairdresser to the pet set.

RUB A DUB DUB

She handles the wriggling puppies, the resistant rovers and the

cancerous cats -- all like they were stoic poodles.

Donna Cannon’s job as a pet groomer at Happy Pet, Dog and Cat Grooming

in Costa Mesa is good clean fun.

When she arrives at work each morning, she takes stock of what’s ahead

and rolls up her sleeves. It’s always a good idea before the suds start

flying.

“It’s fun,” Cannon said. “I really like animals so it’s a fun thing to

do with your time.”

She loves them in all shapes and sizes, but has a particular fondness

for standard poodles and German shepherds.

CLIP, SNIP, BUZZ

After a lather and a rub -- a rinse and repeat -- each family friend

gets a blow drying treat.

Cannon beautifies about eight to 12 animals each day from the

pre-grooming bath to the style and cut.

Thrown into the deal is a nail trim and ear cleaning.

“All I can say is it’s a lot harder than people think,” she said.

“It’s really very tiring.”

Cannon said she falls into bed at night. Of course, she has to take

care of just a few more animals first. Cannon has a dog, three cats and

three birds.

“That’s kind of a bare minimum for me.” She said. “I usually have a

lot more.”

YIPS AND YIPES

For all the cuddly kittens and precious pups, there are a few less

pleasant moments.

It’s especially trying when her clients are unwilling participants in

the process, she said.

“Dogs that bite you when you try cut their hair,” she cited as one of

the worst things.

It’s something that she said happens about once a day.

Other than that, it’s the same problems any salon would have --

customers wanting the impossible, asking for bizarre cuts and colors, and

the infrequent visitor dilemmas.

“There’s nothing sadder than a dog that hasn’t been in for a year and

is just dirty,” she said.

A DIFFERENT BREED

But Cannon has few complaints. Mostly, it’s just great, she said.

Just a few years ago, Cannon handled the suit breed, when she crunched

numbers for a hazardous waste firm.

Needing a change of pace she left accounting. Now, she may still get

barked at in the workplace, but it isn’t taken personally.