Senior future farmers offer pet grooming services to staff

It’s bring your pet to school day, well not quite. Today is the first Future Farmers of America grooming day of the year in which any staff member can drop off their dog with senior veterinary medicine practicum students. Students offer a wide variety of pet care options under the supervision of FFA advisor and Agriculture Science Teacher Amber Dickinson.

“Bowie has done grooming days before I started here but many other agriculture programs in the state of Texas also do grooming days,” Dickinson said. “This opportunity gives the practicum students real-world experience for future jobs with animals.”

There are two package deals which include a full or half spa day for pets. The full-day includes services from students who will bath, dry, brush, trim nails, and clean ears along with the owners’ choice of shampoo or colognes. It also includes walks twice a day with pickup at the end of the school day.

“Students learn proper skills through the Animal Science Program here. During Small Animal Management they spend time on proper grooming skills and animal restraint,” Dickinson said. “They relearn animal restraint skills in Veterinary Medical Applications and get to take the groomed dogs out to play and walk. Then students get to go out to their vet clinics and practice animal restraint for about a month before they come back to class.”

The half-day package includes all the details stated above but pick up for the pet is around 1 pm. Services can also be purchased individually or added on such as shaving and anal gland expression. To keep students safe, shots are required for all pets, as well as paperwork that must be filed and turned into Dickinson 24 hours before the event.

“My favorite part of the day is getting to watch my students learn real-world experiences by dealing with customers, practice how to handle dogs, and how to properly groom,” Dickinson said.