Today we’d like to introduce you to Spenser Koenig.
Hi Spenser, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Like for many of us out there, 2020 was a year of absolute uprooting and massive change in self and in setting. March of 2020, my father passed away which snowballed a chapter of grief, of self-awareness, and self-responsibility in how I grieve and how I cope with everyday life. The world shut down, I left my job in the service industry, and I bought a horse. I didn’t know what my plan was, but I did know that the presence of animals was just about the only -healthy- coping mechanism that actually worked for me.
I started to surround myself with animal-loving people, I started training in the dog grooming industry, and I spent hours commuting to and spending time with my new horse friend. This was a massive change that only Covid could have provided. It was completely different than my previous lifestyle, which, as a proud member of the LGBTQA+ community, a seasoned bartender and server at many local San Diego bars/restaurants, and my wife being a well-renowned DJ in the Hillcrest community, was mainly focused on spending time out at the gay bars with my beloved community, working late hours and playing late hours.
Being in the vulnerable state that I was at the time, I started to empathize with the animals that I could see were outwardly struggling at the hands of humans. Thus began my journey into countless hours of research surrounding fear-free, force-free, cooperative care handling tactics, animal rights and activism, and hands-on experience using Positive Reinforcement methods with my horse, and the dogs that I was grooming. I read books, listened to podcasts, went to seminars, and paid my way through multiple certification courses focused on these methods to learn as much as I could. I then set out to start an all-species animal rescue, and a dog grooming business, that would change the animal-human experience for those I came to rescue or work with.
All I knew was that I wanted to make sure any animal I came in contact with had the best experience that it possibly could with me, which selfishly meant that then I would have the best most therapeutic experience with them. I’m still the type that if an animal is “mean” to me, I immediately cry. Not because they hurt or scared me but because they feel threatened by me, and I never, ever, EVER want any animal to feel threatened by me. Thus began the founding of Treat Them Right Animal Rescue and my mobile dog grooming business All Good Dogs Grooming, LLC. “All dogs are good dogs; they’re not naughty, they’re just nervous.”
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Between public shaming and questioning of my use of Positive Reinforcement training methods on horses, to government corporation filing issues, to severely damaging animal bites, to being a self-funded start-up non-profit and acquiring tens of thousands of dollars in debt in veterinary and feed bills for the rescue animals, there have definitely been struggles.
Does anything worth achieving ever really come easily? Probably not, but I will say with sincerity, that none of the struggles I’ve had since pursuing these goals with animals have been overwhelming to the point that it isn’t worth it. On paper, there is always *something* that could be perceived as stressful going on. Always an animal that needs to see the vet, always a grooming client who doesn’t understand why their dog’s need just a little bit more patience, always a fence that needs mending or a roof that needs patched. But in a reality that is as rewarding as saving an animal’s life or gaining their trust when they otherwise would have been paralyzed with fear, the struggles are more like pebbles on the road than they are speed bumps.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
All Good Dogs Grooming takes a unique approach to dog grooming, in that the haircut isn’t the most important thing, it is how the animal feels while getting it. Since the beginning of dog grooming, it has been expected that groomers put their, and the dog’s safety on the wayside to get the job done. Groomers are not animal trainers; they are professional dog stylists. All Good Dogs Grooming puts training first and grooming second. Teaching dogs that they do not have to fear grooming, so that the dog’s and the groomer’s experience ends up being wildly more pleasant and achievable.
My mentor always says that “dogs are not trying to give us a hard time, they are simply *having* a hard time with what we are asking of them. and that “behavior problems are when animals get hurt, people get hurt, equipment gets broken, and owners get upset.”
Trained under Chrissy Neumeyr Smith through The Whole Pet Grooming Academy, we use behavioral modification, or training, to teach dogs to be calm, comfortable, and cooperative for grooming, to take the safety risks out of it. The same way you take your puppy to obedience classes when they’re young, or you contact a professional dog trainer to help with aggressive behavior or separation anxiety when you leave your dog at home. You would contact me, a certified Master Groomer Behavior Specialist, to best prepare your dog for grooming.
The dog grooming industry is slowly changing in that groomers are starting to refuse service to dogs that are unsafe to groom. It just isn’t worth a livelihood damaging injury, or a lawsuit, or complete defamation of character and business. I hope that more pet parents will take this philosophy into account when thinking about dog grooming. If a human child screams and thrashes their arms and tries to hit the scissors out of the stylist’s hands and throws an absolute fit, we simply try to calm the child down, show them there is nothing to be afraid of, maybe save the haircut for another day. We don’t strap their body and arms and legs to the chair and give them a haircut while they scream and cry. Although sometimes irrational, fear is still real fear. And even animals deserve the empathy that we would give a small child.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
I am a huge advocate for mental health awareness. I am a long-time sufferer of multiple mental health diagnosis and a suicide attempt survivor. My desire to cultivate inner peace for the animals we domesticate and keep in captivity extends to people who suffer emotionally as well. The world is a cruel, scary, beautifully magnificent place, and we are all connected, and I hope to be of service to anyone who needs me to the best of my ability.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.treatthemrght.com ; www.groommygooddog.com
- Instagram: ttrplus_rescue ; allgooddogsgrooming
Image Credits
Alexandria Montone
