You’re Not Alone: Understanding and Overcoming Compassion Fatigue as a Pet Groomer
You’re Not Imagining It Look, let’s just get real for a minute. If you’ve been grooming for more than a hot second, you’ve probably had that moment. You know the one. You’re standing there with your shears, looking at a dog you would’ve been excited to work on two years ago, and you feel nothing. Or worse you feel dread. The appointment book that used to make you feel accomplished now makes your chest tight. You snap at customers over stuff that wouldn’t have bothered you before. You go home and can’t shake the feeling that you’re just… done. And then you feel guilty about it. Because you love dogs, right? This is what you chose. So what’s wrong with you? Here’s the thing: Nothing is wrong with you! What you’re experiencing has a name. It’s called compassion fatigue, and it’s not some made-up corporate wellness buzzword. It’s a real, documented condition that happens to people who care for a living and yeah, that includes groomers. Compassion fatigue is what happens when you spe...
