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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

Virtual Grooming

A lot can be learned online in the digital age – how to build a financial portfolio, fix a bike, or even how to teach Fido to heel. But at some point, reality has to be engaged. Animal Behavior College, a Santa Clarita vocational training program, has grown into a successful business bridging the virtual and real worlds. The college offers online self-guided study and hands-on practice for individuals interested in becoming dog trainers, veterinary assistants and animal groomers. That formula has led to steady growth for the business, which was founded in 1998 by Steven Applebaum, a 53-year-old former military dog handler. Two years ago, the company outgrew its 7,500-square-foot Northridge offices and moved into a Santa Clarita headquarters about three times the size. Today it has 95 employees, and last year it graduated 2,100 students who paid about $4,000 each to take its courses. ABC is expected to gross $15 million this year, about $1.5 million more than last. Students of ABC study course material online for about a year, during which mentors with field experience tutor them via phone and email. Then they spend about six months in an onsite internship where they get hands-on experience with dogs. Courses cost between $3,500 and $4,700 including tuition, supplies and textbooks. Students can take out federally backed education loans to attend the school. “The model has worked,” Applebaum said. “I think we are well positioned in the market.” More growth is ahead. In January, ABC will open its first onsite classroom, and next year the college will begin applying for accreditation from Distance Education and Training Council, an education trade association in Washington, D.C. The formula for success is simple, according to Applebaum and others familiar with the industry and school: there are few places where aspiring dog handlers can get formal training. Penn Foster Career School of Scranton, Penn., for example, offers online training for veterinary technician degrees, but doesn’t offer courses in grooming and training, which many learn for the first time on the job. Karen Taylor, owner and head trainer at My Best Friend Obedience, a Van Nuys obedience school for pet owners, said she has hired trainers who graduated from ABC and has been pleased – though she believes that hands-on training still works. “ABC’s a good school. I think it’s a great place to start if you can afford to, but there are also avenues for people who don’t have money,” she said. “If you’re a good worker, most people are happy to have you.” Doggone opportunity Organized groups such as the Pet Dog Trainer Association of Greenville, S.C., have come into existence in recent years, but there is no nationally recognized set of professional standards. The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles has so far unsuccessfully sponsored state legislation that would require certification for groomers. Generally, individuals who want to be a trainer, groomer, or vet assistant learn on the job, often starting with menial tasks such as cleaning up or answering phones at an animal hospital. After serving as a military patrol officer, Applebaum seized on the field’s lack of professionalism to begin his first business in 1981, Animal Behavior and Training Associates of Northridge. He placed dog trainers in retail chains and developed exclusive relationships with Petco Animal Supplies Inc. of San Diego and Petcetera Retail Ltd. of Richmond, British Columbia. In the process, he noticed that several applicants couldn’t pass a simple test to be hired, and became frustrated enough to start ABC. Applebaum said that instead of spending $15,000 a month on ads to find trainers, he could train them himself. “It occurred to me in the shower,” he said. “I realized, ‘I’m kind of missing the boat.’” He decided to seize on the emerging Web, integrating online training with internships that his students could get at grooming salons and vet hospitals in the $50 billion pet industry. Evie Lugo, a resident of Sylmar and a 2012 graduate of ABC’s vet assistance program, said her degree was a stepping stone to become a registered veterinary technician. “ABC has gotten me into the door,” said Lugo, 24, currently a vet assistant at Vet People Veterinary Services in Granada Hills. She plans to get her registered veterinary technician’s license through Pierce College soon. Bad rap As a for-profit technical school, ABC finds itself in an industry that has been under attack. Critics say many such schools are diploma mills that lure students in with promises of exaggerated pay upon graduation in an effort to make them take out big student loans for tuition that they may not be able to pay back. Applebaum said he understands the controversy, but laughs off the idea that anyone taking his courses believe they will make big money. Only vet assistant jobs are likely to be full-time, and while trainers can earn between $20 and $150 an hour, grooming and vet assistants make about $12 to $15 an hour. “Certainly we spend a bit on Internet advertising,” he said. “(But) we didn’t want to set up a diploma mill.” Applebaum, who often can be found in his office with Truffles, his basset hound, and Sam, his chocolate Labrador, said he is satisfied with what he has built so far. But given the mom-and-pop nature of the industry, he’s not sure exactly where he stands. “I have no idea what the lion’s share (of the market) would be,” he said.

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