April graduated with honors from Hoover High School before relocating to California, where she completed over 800 hours of all breed dog and cat grooming, as well as trained in animal handling, nutrition, and show grooming. She ultimately achieved an advanced diploma from the California School of Dog Grooming then worked for three years at the Markim Pet Resort in Carmel Valley as a groomer. This high volume facility exposed April to a large number of dog and cat breeds and provided her with valuable experience working with more difficult dogs. She then moved to Dogs in the City, an upscale pet spa and daycare in San Diego and spent six months there as a groomer before returning to Birmingham in late 2007. Upon returning to the area, April resumed her studies at UAB and spent five months grooming at The Dog Patch, where owner Lynn Eastman described her work as being some of the best she has seen in Birmingham. April has been grooming at the Rub-a-Dub-Dog Bathhouse and Spa for almost two years and has built quite a loyal clientele of dogs ranging from tiny Yorkshire Terriers to Great Danes! In fact, April LOVES grooming big dogs and has plenty of opportunities to practice on her furry son "Ender", a.k.a. "Big D," a 150 pound Harlequin Great Dane who is the apple of her eye, and "Roo", a Blue Great Dane that was adopted recently through Great Dane Rescue of Birmingham. When she is not grooming or playing with her dogs, she enjoys spending time with her husband Joe, listening to music and gardening.

Rebecca Martinez celebrates her one year anniversary with Rub-a-Dub-Dog Bathhouse and Spa in March of 2010, and over this time has proven that she has a natural gift for dog grooming. The extent of her talent suggests that she has been in the field for many years, but she had only been grooming for a little over three years when she joined us last year. Prior to coming on board, Rebecca worked in a very busy grooming salon and was the most requested out of the six groomers on staff. A number of her clients have even chosen to drive miles further just to continue bringing their dogs to her at Rub-a-Dub-Dog Bathhouse and Spa. Though exposed to various breeds of dogs, Rebecca is particularly fond of grooming Yorkshire Terriers. Anyone who brings their Yorkie to Rebecca for grooming is certain to see this enthusiasm for the breed shine through in her work. Yorkies aren't the only dogs where Rebecca excels though. A recent customer commented that her Havanese received the "best haircut ever" after the first visit with Rebecca. She has also demonstrated her skill with poodles, shih tzus, schnauzers, cocker spaniels, and mixed breeds of all sizes. Rebecca's calm, even temperament sets the dogs at ease - and makes her a pleasure to work with for the human members of the staff. When not working, Rebecca and her husband Cary enjoy riding his motorcycle and playing with her two rescue dogs – Tucker and Mya.

Stephanie joined the Rub-a-Dub-Dog Bathhouse and Spa in October of 2009 with extensive experience working with animals. In her position prior to coming on board, Stephanie started out as a bather in a high-volume grooming environment and worked to become a groomer, and eventually salon manager and grooming instructor. Her grooming talent is second only to her tenderness and compassion for our furry friends. Before deciding to embark upon her career as a professional dog groomer, Stephanie worked at veterinary clinics and attended school to train as a certified veterinary technician in Phoenix, AZ. This experience assists her in working with the older, frail dogs that tend to seek out her gentle touch.

Stephanie is such a softy with our furry friends that she has taken in not one, not two, not three but FOUR stray or unwanted animals into her home over the years. Along with the one cat that she adopted from a shelter in Phoenix, Stephanie and her husband Tony share their home with three dogs and two cats. Despite having so many furry friends to love at home, Stephanie confesses that she gets very attached to her grooming clients. It's clear that the feelings are mutual since many of her clients have followed her to the Rub-a-Dub-Dog Bathhouse and Spa!