Pet Portraits

Jessica Shippee, YES! I'm a groomer!

I have always loved animals and had many pets growing up. My dad's Irish Setter, Hobie, was my first subject and the love of drawing animals clicked. I always knew that I would work with animals when it came time to choose a career path for myself.

During high school and college, I worked at a petstore cleaning up after all the baby puppies and kitties and birds and rodents. I got to learn about breeds and training dogs. In Colorado, my first very own dog, an English Springer Spaniel became the apple of my eye. I poured over training books and taught her to do tricks, jump gates, retrieve on command, find hidden stuff, what a blast! Word got out that I had "the touch" and soon I was training all the dogs in the county.

When I moved back to Florida, I worked as a bather at Petsmart for a few months, and after doing my time, got to go their Pet Grooming Academy in Boca Raton. I finished my tenure with Petsmart and moved to N. Florida where I was lucky to work with a prestigious company who gave me the tools to refine my skills. Now, 10 years later, I am grooming while going to school to become an R.N. Nurse. 

I have had the pleasure of working with very talented professionals who have helped me further my career and have pushed me to be the best.