From a garage with nothing but a washer / dryer hook-up to a gorgeous brick and mortar store, Jess Rona is making big moves with her dog grooming business. Jess’ background in grooming paired with her fiery passion for improv comedy and an itch to create, helped her to embrace her entrepreneurial side and open up her very own grooming business in Los Angeles.
Jess quickly went viral for taking slow motion videos of her freshly groomed pups blowing in the wind and everyone, including Katy Perry, wanted Jess to work wonders on their dogs! Now, as her brand evolves, she finds her two worlds colliding: Comedy/Acting and Dog Grooming. Jess truly is exploding with ambition.
Tell us the most exciting thing you’ve done in the past few years.
Wow.. a lot’s actually happened in the past few years so this is a big question. I just created, shot and directed my first ever web series and I am SO excited about it. It’s called ‘For The Love of Dog’ and it’s a mockumentary style show that will be out this fall on YouTube. It’s sort of like Best In Show meets The Office. I cast my team of groomers and some funny friends. You may even see some special appearances from Taylor Schilling and Jake Johnson. So, stay tuned for its release on my Youtube channel, Jess Rona Grooming.
Tell us a bit about your two pups, Chupie & Meemu.
Well we got Chupie first so I’ll start with her. She’s a pit mixed with boston terrier but is really a full on mutt. She’s actually a Sato which is a Puerto Rican street dog. My husband was in Puerto Rico working on a film when he found Chupie. He started sending me these adorable videos of her and then before I knew it he got a vet to give him a clearance note to bring her home to surprise me!
Now on to Meemu! We actually got an email from the Mutt Scouts rescue in LA about a hoarding situation where they had to rescue a mass amount of dogs. Their shelter was overrun and they were looking for foster homes. I saw this little poodle there and I’ve always wanted one for grooming competitions. So, we took him in and ended up failing as foster parents – we loved him too much to give him back!
What do you find to be most challenging about being a pet parent?
The most challenging thing would be this sense of guilt that comes with being a pet parent. I’m always worrying about my pups and wondering if they are happy, if I walk them enough – like do they enjoy their lives?! I mean we absolutely adore our dogs that’s why we feed them the best food possible. They truly are our whole lives so the worry that can come with that is so hard.
