Humanity Before Vanity

“Humanity before vanity.” You have heard us say it. We 

tag it on Instagram. It is our profile picture on Facebook. But what 

does it mean?

Humanity before vanity means we will never harm a pet to please a

 human.

Humanity before vanity means we will never push a pet beyond

 their limits for the sake of looks.

Humanity before vanity means we will never compromise a pet’s

 health or happiness to achieve “perfection.”

Humanity before vanity means the welfare of the pet always comes

 before the wants and desires of their human owners. Period.

At TLC Pet Services, everything we do is for the welfare of your 

pets. We take a hard stance on issues such as dematting, timing, and

 perfection.

By definition, dematting is the removal of tangled or matted coat 

from a pet. Generally speaking, when most groomers talk about 

dematting, they are referring to the process of brushing an 

extensively matted coat. Many owners do not want their dogs 

shaved short. They want all those tangles brushed out. A little 

conditioner should loosen it all up, right? And the dog won’t care, 

because they are just a dog! Wrong.

Dematting a coat can cause both physical and psychological 

damage to a pet. Tight matts can literally take hours to brush out. 

Even with the utmost care, it is likely the dog will end up with at 

least a few spots of brush burn, an irritation caused by the brush 

scraping one spot on the skin too many times. Tight matts can hide 

problems such as bruising, wounds, and infections. The matts are 

painful enough. Brushing over them can cause even more pain! 

There is a high chance any infections can become worse and could 

spread. A dog who is subjected to this process for the sake of 

vanity is likely to start dreading their grooming sessions. They may 

start to become fearful of the process or aggressive as they now 

anticipate grooming with pain. Imagine having a huge snarl in your

 own hair. The hairdresser refuses to shave it out and instead forces 

you to spend an hour sitting in the chair, scolding you if you 

wiggle, while pulling at your scalp. Is the pulling intentional? No. 

But it will happen no matter what products are used. You would not

be very happy and you would not want to go back to that 

hairdresser again!

Apart from the potential damage to the skin, dematting also 

damages the dog’s coat. When the hair matts together, the 

microscopic scales on each hair is acting like velcro. They stick 

together tightly. Brushing rips these scales apart as the hairs are 

separated, causing them to further fray. Often the dematted coat 

will have a frizzy appearance due to the damage. No amount of 

conditioner will repair all of the damage. Even with extra products 

and attention, the previously matted hair will matt again. The new 

matts usually form faster and will likely be tighter than before.

The only safe and comfortable way to dematt a coat, and the only 

way TLC Pet Services will dematt a coat, is by using clippers to 

shave as close as necessary to get between the matting and the skin.

 While we may attempt to brush a small spot here and there IF the 

dog tolerates it, we will not dematt the entire pet in any other 

manner.

Many folks want their pets back in their homes as soon as possible. 

We absolutely understand that! However, another aspect of 

humanity before vanity is timing. In a society that is all rush, rush, 

rush, we sometimes forget that going slow can be better for 

everyone. Some pets can be groomed in an hour or two. Some pets 

respond better to a slower approach and appreciate breaks. These 

pets might take three hours or more. Could these pets be groomed 

faster? Sure. Will they cooperate, be happy, and keep their positive 

attitudes about grooming? Not likely. Since we want everyone to be

 happy, safe, and comfortable, if a pet requires extra breaks, the pet 

will get extra breaks.

Perfection is a big part of why we believe in humanity before 

vanity. We all want our dogs to strut out of the grooming salon 

looking show ready! We want them to sparkle. We want every 

single hair in place. We want them to be the very picture of 

perfection! But sometimes what we want and what the pet can 

handle are two different things. Young puppies, seniors, and cats 

quite often get what we refer to as a “comfort groom.” There are 

times where we sigh and say “Well. Close enough is good enough I 

guess.” Why? Because the pet just isn’t having it! Believe us, we 

want your dog to strut out looking exactly like you pictured and we 

want your cats to be fluffy perfection! Sometimes, it just isn’t 

possible. The grooming process can be scary for inexperienced 

youngsters and for seniors who are either going blind, deaf, or 

maybe a little senile. Rather than force them into a perfect groom, it

 is better for them psychologically to just do the best we can. A 

young pup is being taught that grooming is not scary. A senior 

needs to be handled with care as they might be starting to 

experience some arthritis pain during the process. Cats are...cats.

 You never know what even the most perfect cat is going to do from

 one grooming session to the next!

For these pets, and for any nervous or fearful pets, we will always 

take the comfort approach. If they have any matting, the matts will 

be removed first. The sani trim will be done. We will do our very 

best to complete the haircut to the owners specifications but if the 

pet can’t handle it, we will not force it. Again, we want grooming to

 be fun and safe, not scary!

We understand that not everyone agrees with our approach. We will

 make every effort to work with you and your pets however, we 

will always chose humanity over vanity!