My name is Ilka Haupt, I am 34 years old and have been able to realize a big dream with the salon "of course I fell". I have had an infinitely big heart for animals since I was a child and have always wanted to work with them. Since it was not possible to train as an animal keeper in zoos and animal parks (due to the very few available training places), I first turned another hobby into a career. I am a two-wheeler mechanic journeyman - specializing in motorcycle technology.

As it happens in life, I reoriented myself and discovered the profession of dog groomer for myself.

I completed my further training as a dog hairdresser in licensed partner schools of Anja Reiteritsch's dog cutting school. Then I worked there for a few months as a staff dog groomer. I made a conscious decision in favor of these partner salons and this special training concept, since there is no standardized training in Germany and it has not yet been recognised. This results in large differences in the quality of training. Ms. Reiteritsch has created a comprehensive and well-founded concept for basic training, which has been used for training for 15 years.

In the selected partner schools and salons, training is now carried out according to the proven quality specifications and standards with fixed specifications for practice content and a stable basis of theoretical knowledge.

During my training I also found my great happiness as a dog. Little "Bonnie" is my constant companion. In the salon, she can certainly convey calm to our four-legged visitors and is also a great asset there! Bonnie comes from the Czech Republic and came to Germany through the "Four-legged friends in need" association. Like many animal protection dogs, she has had some bad experiences, so she is still very skittish in certain situations. She has no problems with other animals, so she gets along well with cats, among other things. We didn't look for each other, but luckily we found each other.

Another wonderful friendship developed during my groomer training with two of my training colleagues, a work colleague and my trainer. I am very grateful for the contact, we exchange ideas, give advice and share experiences. We are "THE groomer gang" and meet regularly to chat.

Together we visited the "Groomania" in Belgium this year to further educate ourselves. Such events and seminars are important. It's all the nicer that we can continue to talk about it afterwards.