01/25/2026
No party, no gold watch or a stock payout. As a small business owner, this guy just quietly hung up his clippers & shears one last time and closed the door. This man's pet grooming career is worth celebrating, though. In 2002 he went to school to learn the trade then worked at a shop in Northern MI to hone his skills. He then bravely opened up his own place and The Country Clipper was born. When we relocated to the Lansing area he successfully started over. Steve the Groomer has a gift when it comes to working with pets. He calms the aggressive and frightened and plays and loves on the ones that welcome his attention. Steve is a talented groomer, working his artistic talent on all breeds. He has crawled around on the floor to work with pups that are too physically challenged to get on a table, he has picked up and delivered dogs for owners who couldn't get out and kept pets all day with a morning drop off, all for no extra charge. Steve has warned pet parents of possible health issues discovered during a groom. He took pride in knowing that every pet leaving the shop was clean, happy and he could easily run a comb throughout their coat without a snag. Over the years The Country Clipper supported community organizations by donating gift certificates for fundraisers and for some time donated a portion of groom fees to an animal shelter. Covid was a challenge for all but after a short closure, Steve reopened, adopting practices to promote safety & wellness including meeting clients at their cars in all kinds of weather. Even as he was battling cancer, Steve communicated with his customers and worked on days when he was not 100%. He will tell you that he has met some pretty great people over the years and enjoyed the conversations, often about the awesome music selections that always played in the shop or devotion to his Chicago sports teams. He appreciated the yummy homemade jams & baked goods people brought and most especially those follow-up phone calls of how pleased a customer was with the job he did. Most of all Steve loved the animals and found it a privilege and joy to "play" with them. He mourn ed the loss when getting the dreaded call that one had passed. So, please join me in congratulating my husband, Steve the Groomer, on his successful career and wish him good health & great memory making in retirement.