Success finds its way yet again back to the fabulous dog grooming salon, Woofly Pawfect, in Brampton.

Its staff member and leader, Michelle Barnes, has had arecent history of success in national grooming competitions, but she is not the only one seeking dog grooming stardom.

Her assistant, Brianna Marshall, who goes by Bri, has entered her first grooming competition this month and only went and won her class, Salon Fusion Middletons in The Salon Groomer of the Year competition.

This was a grooming competition for anyone who had never placed in a comp or who had never competed and wanted to take the leap.

They wanted to see grooms that were done in the salon on a day to day basis.

Bri did really well as she had just gone in to the Middleton bracket with her three years of grooming.

Michelle said of her treasured colleague: "She is such an asset to Woofly and is always there when I need her.

"She suffers from migraines on a regular basis but never takes a day off ill and always works extra when I need her to.

"She has just turned 22, and she has been grooming for three years.

"The competition was open to anyone who has groomed for three to seven years, so she was something of an underdog."

Bri said of her victory: "It was unexpected becuase there were really great groomers there, I didn't think I would win.

"The dog I groomed was called Ruby."

Bri said she didn't have any certain plans to enter any future competitions, but will probably do so eventually.

Furthering their reputation for quality, Michelle has recently passed her International Certified Master Groomer (ICMG) exam for terriers.

Becoming a master groomer is one of the most prestigious titles in the profession.

There are several exams for each dog class, and some contain a practical and a written examination.

Michelle scored 92% in the ICMG Terrier practical and written examinations.

Michelle said: "I’m now one step closer to becoming an Internationally Certified Master Groomer, just one practical and five written papers to go."

To become an ICMG groomer, all sections have to be completed and passed within five years, and it’s an 86% pass rate.