THE owner of a dog grooming salon in Swindon had a special surprise when the team entered her into a competition without her knowing - and she won in one category.

Aggie Cooper manages LoveMyGroomer Ltd and Fetch Grrom Swindon. Her colleagues knew she would never enter a competition on her own because it was "not her thing" but as the ALON Groomer of the Year competition was coming up, they decided to give it a go on her behalf.

Due to the pandemic, the grooming show required photos of everyday pets being groomed in the salon to be shown and judged remotely rather than during a typical live breeders show.

The team explained: “The business has already started to advance the level of skills with the introduction of a City and Guilds Level 3 groomer, and Aggie has always received such high praise from our customers.

"So we thought we would be a great chance to get professional feedback on our grooms and maybe win something.

"The hard bit was having to take eight photos of each dog without Aggie noticing. On the night of the finals, we had to watch the results in secret with all our fingers crossed.

"Aggie placed third and fifth in one category, eighth in another and then in the creative salon category, the last category we entered was ALON Groomer of the Year.

"We listened to the third place being announced and then second place. Then, unbelievably, in first place was Aggie of LoveMyGroomer.

"With a big shriek of excitement that startled Aggie, who still didn’t know what had happened, we explained to her the secret entry in the competition and that she had won first place.

"Aggie was so over the moon and a little tearful”.

The organisers of ALON Groomer of the Year Ky and Emma offered their support in the run up to the big show and have continued to provide help following the great results for the team and Aggie.

Ky has provided feedback on all of Aggie's grooms along with some top tips on how to improve them even more.

Ky said: "All three dogs are groomed to such a top standard. I love seeing Aggie’s work, they all look beautiful, well done”

Aggie said: "I may not enter another competition anytime soon, but I am even more committed than ever to providing Swindon with award-winning individual grooms with my expanding team of skilled groomers."