Zandra Smith and Rita Parker are local pet groomers with TLC Pet Care Services. Earlier this year, the Chilton County Humane Society expressed a need for donations and volunteer work while they were undergoing a change in management.

Since the new director, Paula Jo Mattingly, has taken over, Smith and Parker have worked out a volunteer schedule for grooming animals in the shelter. Even though most of the dogs in the shelter end up being put to sleep, there are a few who make it to good homes, and making the dogs look presentable can help bring that number up.

“We wanted to help out with the shelter, and this seems to really be something that they needed. When they have a dog or a cat that needs to be groomed, we will go out and get them and then bring them to our shop where we will bathe, cut and polish them,” said Smith, TLC Pet Care Services owner-operator.

Humane Society Board member Glenda Tuell said Smith’s and Parker’s help has even made the shelter cleaner because the dogs that are brought into the shelter dirty and infested can be groomed to prevent the dogs already in the shelter from becoming infested or dirty.

“I have been doing this for a long time, and I can say that volunteering at the shelter really seems to help find some of the ‘mutts’ homes,” Smith said. “Since a mutt can be hard on the eyes from the beginning, it is a little easier to adopt one after their hair has been cut, their nails have been clipped and they have a shinny coat that smells clean.”