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The Noordhoek Family Leon, Marie and Leanne |
In 1966, while living in California, Marie started looking for a new dog. She went to the local humane society and saw dogs stacked in cages by the door. She noticed a shaggy, matted little black dog in one of the cages. The owner had just dropped off the dog and was in the building. The owner came out, saw Marie interacting with the dog and asked her "Do you want this dog?" Marie said "Yes!" He walked back into the humane society and got the dog's paperwork, handed them to Marie and said "Take him home!" His name was "Leo". Marie was surprised to learn he was an AKC registered miniature Poodle! Marie had four small children at the time and when she took shaggy "Leo" home they all thought she was crazy! She took "Leo" to the groomer to get him cleaned up. Unfortunately, the groomer burned him so badly, he came home crying and hid for three days behind the sofa. From then on, Marie groomed him herself. This was the beginning of a sucessful grooming career for Marie as she started grooming for others also. When she moved to WI, she opened her own dog grooming business from her home called LeaMaria's Pet Grooming with her daugher Lisa. Marie also taught her younger daughter Leanne how to groom.
Marie's love for "Leo" was so strong she knew she could never be without a Poodle again. |
