Below is the statement that I have sent out to representatives, Jim Struzzi and Joseph Petrarca. I was not able to send this to Governor Wolfs office because the online contact form is limited to 1000 characters. I did however send him the link to my petition as well as called his office several times this week to see if he had received my attempts to contact him via his website. Unfortunately his office is sending ALL phone calls to the health department so there is no way to contact his office directly and I'm left waiting for them to leave a message for him that I am attempting to contact him in regards to this issue. The woman from the health department said that she has spoken to several people about dog grooming which is great. Because my many attempts at trying to reach Governor Wolf have gone unanswered thus far I contacted WJAC-TV news station about the issue and they said they will try to get something set up to get this issue heard about and hopefully get Governor Wolfs attention. Thank you all so much for your continued support. Please continue to contact your state reps to tell them you want something done about Governor Wolfs decision to classify dog grooming as non essential. 

Animal Welfare during the COVID-19 crisis

Hello, I am writing to you today to inform you about steps I have taken to get Governor Wolf to change dog grooming to an essential business. I own and am the sole groomer at a small grooming salon located in Homer City. I am emailing you as well as Representative Struzzi because although my salon is in Homer City, I live in Westmoreland County. Governor Wolf’s statement of what is considered essential travel is in direct conflict with his decision to close grooming salons. It clearly states "Essential travel is allowable for tasks to maintain health and safety, or the health and safety of their family or household members (including pets)" By definition that is dog grooming. Dogs will suffer greatly for this large oversight in animal welfare. There are so many reasons to allow us to continue but I will try to keep this brief and to the point.

Groomers can easily enact no contact drop-off and pick-up of dogs; I was doing it for weeks before the mandatory shut down was forced upon me.

Groomers already have the necessary PPE to protect ourselves. We wear N95 masks as well as mask covers because grooming is a hazardous job when it comes to our lungs.

We already disinfect between every dog that is in our salons because canine disease are spread very easily, as I'm sure you know there has been a canine corona virus for quite some time now.

Humane officers have and will cite people for neglect or abuse if dogs grooming needs are not properly maintained because it will have a very negative impact on their health and wellbeing.

Unlike hair salons we do not have a lot of person to person contact, and it is easy for us to eliminate the little bit of contact that we do have. People are also able to bathe and brush their own hair and clip their own nails. Most of them cannot do this for their dogs not only because they don't have the proper tools but because they don't have knowledge of the proper techniques. There are numerous hair and fur types and each one requires specialized tools and training to be able to safely manage grooming them.

Improper grooming techniques can lead to severe irritation and infections of the skin, ears, and nails. Cutting nails too short can lead to severe blood loss and infections.

Some dogs already have severe skin allergies or infections and were being treated with regular vet prescribed shampoos, by groomers, until the shutdown and now their health that was progressing has begun to severely decline.

These are just a few of the reasons why we need to act now to change Governor wolfs decision and classify dog grooming as an essential business. Just three years ago he enacted Libres law to make Pennsylvania "the most improved state in the country for animal protection"; his recent decision to close dog groomers will have erased that accomplishment completely.

I have attached here a link to the petition which currently has over 5,000 signatures, many with comments detailing the importance of dog grooming, please help us help our animal family members. Get dog grooming classified as an essential business. Thank you.

https://www.change.org/p/governor-tom-wolf-dog-grooming-is-an-essential-business