BIGA Honorary Members
BIGA is proud to present the following Honorary Members in recognition of their contributions to the professional pet grooming industry in the British Isles. Each Honouree is distinguished by their exceptional commitment to, and generosity in, the sharing of their knowledge and hard-won expertise with other pet grooming professionals.
BIGA is indeed humbled and privileged by their acceptance of this accolade and encourages all its members likewise to acknowledge and embrace the humility, expertise and compassion that our Honourees have demonstrated over years of service to their fellow professionals and, above all, the welfare of animals in their care.
If you would like to propose a candidate we may have missed, we'd love to hear from you. The Industry as a whole stands on the shoulders of giants - this is BIGA's effort to ensure recognition of their contributions.
| Angela Caley, ICMG – Currently Head of International Professional Groomers UK Angela has been grooming since 1962 as a professional pet groomer and during this time has achieved:
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Over the years, Angela has won multiple competitions in the UK and the US. She has trained countless others in professional pet grooming – many of whom went on to win championships themselves. Angela has taught in Hong Kong, France and the UK and delivered workshops, seminars and demonstrations around the world. She was also a successful breeder and has shown Boxers, Poodles, Maltese (with seven Maltese champions) and now the Scottish Terrier. Certainly one of the UK's most distinguished groomers.
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Anita Bax - BIGA Honorary Member
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| Carole Flatt - BIGA Honorary Member Carole Flatt started out grooming poodles as a child, this started the dream of being a dog groomer. In 1957 she opened her first Poodle Parlour as they were know back then. It was cramped, the equipment was basic. In the early 60's Carole started to show poodles and this meant she had to work harder on her grooming skills for competition.This lead to an interest in better equipment and grooming products to make her dogs stand out from the crowd. |
All this soon became obsessional so the World of making dogs beautiful became a way of life. Carole's enthusiasm was infectious hence the whole family became involved. Her dream was to make each and every dog beautiful, using the very best equipment and products. Not content on just doing this quietly Carole stated organising seminars in the 1980's, the first being in a Motorway Service in Selby. The event was free as she had no idea if anyone was really interested. By 1pm that day the hall was full and those that could not get in had noses pressed against the windows to see what was going on! Carole loved grooming and loved everything about the industry.
After working as a professional groomer and gaining the only qualification of the time (City & Guilds 775 with a Distinction) she taught others and loved helping people in the industry. She often Judged Poodles to Championship level making up a few Champions along the way.
In 1990's it was decided the family should specialise more, hence the business name change to DeZynaDog Ltd. This Carole was involved with alongside her family until she retired just before she was 80. After her retirement she was honoured to receive her final and most precious award - the Liz Paul Life Time Achievement Award from Colin Taylor.
Now in retirement she follows the industry closely, admiring how far grooming has come and she looks back with great pride that she has been a part of such journey.
| Diana North - BIGA Honorary Member |
| Pam Gee - BIGA Honorary Member Pam Gee LCGI I was the proud owner of Daisy Bank Kennels, Cattery and Grooming Centre for forty four years. I was encouraged to open a boarding kennel by my vet, who was a great support to me over the years. Not having any knowledge of running a boarding kennel I had a lot to learn. Before I opened the Kennels I showed Miniature Poodles ,making my first champion up in 1975, in recent years showing Std Poodles .That’s how I acquired a great love of Grooming dogs. |
I became a Director of The Pet Care Trust in 1999, as a grooming director for The British Dog Grooming Association, .During that time I became a director of Pet Index and then in 2004 became a director of The British Kennel and Cattery Association.
In 2003 I became a Trustee of Wood Green Animal Shelter and are still supporting the Charity by chairing The Animal Welfare Committee . Being part of Wood Green which supports animals who are in need is a great privilege for me.
After leaving the Pet Care Trust, myself and other Kennel and Cattery owners decided to start a new Association for Licensed Kennel and Cattery’s (ALIKC} . This helps support all owners with the continuing new regulations. I managed to join as a member the CFSG ( The Canine and Feline Sector Group). Then at last we had a voice in all new regulations which was a huge step forward for kennel and cattery owners.
During that time Heidi Anderton and I decided we needed a new Grooming Association, so that’s when The British Isles Dog Grooming Association ( BIGA) was born. We wanted to do all we could to support all groomers new and old ,especially now with the new dog grooming licence being on the table. We also managed to join the CFSG, so Groomers will also have a voice in the new licensing regulations.
We now have a great group of directors and many volunteers to help in running BIGA . Long may it continue to encourage all, to do their best in looking after the welfare of dogs and cats.
Best Wishes Pam
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Peter Young - BIGA Honorary Member
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| Agnes Murphy - BIGA Honorary Member Agnes started her grooming career at the London Academy of Grooming with Gill East. She operated successful grooming businesses for many years. During that time, she also completed a two-year vet nursing course at Glasgow Veterinary College. |
Scotgroom was started in 1999, and since then, Agnes has trained hundreds of groomers who have gone on to run successful businesses and compete nationally and internationally.
Many groomers return for advice and assistance before sitting their exams, as Agnes was a City and Guilds Examiner for several years.
Agnes has competed internationally and was a GroomTeam Scotland member in 1999 - London, UK; 2001 - Calgary, Canada; 2005 - Montpellier, France; and 2007 - Milan, Italy. Amongst the many grooming awards she has received are the Cardinal Crystal International Groomer of the Year 2004 at Intergroom, New Jersey, USA and International Gold medallist 2005. She has been on the judging team at Eurogroom Prague Best and Dublin. Her free time is spent showing and judging Standard, Miniature and Toy Poodles and various Gundog breeds with great success.
Agnes holds a distinction pass in City and Guilds 7750 (now called the 7750-03 Advanced Certificate in Dog Grooming) and the Advanced Grooming Diploma (now called the Higher Diploma in Dog Grooming). She holds the LCGI Licentiateship award in dog grooming, recognising her as a master craftsman in Europe. This is the highest award achievable in dog grooming. She is also a member of the Guild of Master Groomers and the Cardinal Crystal Academy. Other qualifications include units in Training and Development and a Further Education Adult Teaching Certificate.
| Colin Taylor - BIGA Honorary Member World renown International dog grooming legend Colin Taylor. Here are a few of his hard earned accolades.
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Colin’s canine connection was formed from a very young age whilst he worked in a pet shop in London. Already an avid animal lover he was introduced to the world of pet grooming through a dog groomer who came into his store to buy some nail clippers.
And just like that all his ‘furry’ stars aligned and at 16 years of age he was beginning his grooming career at the London Academy of grooming in 1985.
Young and ‘dog’ keen to add some international flavour to his already impressive dog grooming resume Colin spent the next two years training in Asia at the Hong Kong Doggie House before returning to the United Kingdom to teach at the grooming school he was training at only three years earlier.
Colin was not to stay in the United Kingdom for long though. After impressing crowds with his super sleek scissor skills at the 1989 World Grooming Championship in Windsor, he was headed for the United States where he spent the next 18 years working in prestigious grooming schools and salons across the country.
Excited to share his international wealth of experience in all things grooming Colin wrote a book titled ‘What Would Colin Do? 101 Situations and Solutions for Every Groomer’, he founded a dog grooming school, the ‘Colin Taylor Academy’ and created his own line of luxury grooming products.
| Heidi Anderton - BIGA Honorary Member Heidi Anderton owns and runs Absolutely Animals in Lee, London, which celebrates its 25th anniversary in June 2020. Heidi has always been an advocate of qualifications and continual professional development as her impressive C.V demonstrates. |
Heidi opened her business in 1995 with help from the Princes’ Youth Business Trust and she is passionate about helping students reach their full potential in the field of animal grooming along with raising the standards across the industry. Heidi also continues to further her professional development by reading, researching, taking exams, along with attending and holding seminars in both dog and cat grooming. She both competes and judges at grooming shows here and abroad and has been a multi-award winner, along with twice winning best in show in the dog grooming arena.Heidi has been teaching and assessing dog grooming for more many years and is a founder member of The British Isles Grooming Association.
Heidi has an impressive list of qualifications and achievements which include: C&G LCGI, Full Higher Diploma and Guild of Master Groomers, member of Groom Team England , Grooming Director BDGA 2012 to 2014, Grooming School of the Year 2015, Director of BIGA , ICMG Award......and the list goes on !!!
| Joanne Angus - BIGA Honorary Member Joanne has many years experience in dog grooming, having groomed and taught since the 1980's. She is one of the founders of Groom Team England for which she was team co-ordinator for 10 years, is co-author of 'The Grooming Manual for the Dog and Cat' and founder member of the Guild of Master Groomers. |
Joanne is keen to promote grooming excellence wherever possible, judging grooming competitions and demonstrating at seminars and events throughout the UK. She is a proud member of The Groomers Spotlight promoting qualified groomers and is also a City & Guilds examiner. Joanne is currently part of the trailblazer group working on grooming apprenticeships which will hopefully be available in 2019
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| Zoe Duffy - BIGA Honorary Member Zoe Duffy has had an impressive and successful career grooming, training, showing and judging, which culminated in a Lifetime achievement award in 2019. Zoe has taught in college, and privately, which is her role today. She is the lead trainer and assessor at Look North and Director of the City and Guilds Approved Centre, Summit Groomer Training Group, together with Joanne Angus and Alison Thomas. |
Zoe has a long list of competition wins including, Eurogroom, Scotgroom, ProGroom, Groomer Of The Year (GOTY), Irish Championships and Intergroom USA where she won a gold medal. At 20 years old, Zoe became the youngest groomer to win GOTY, which she achieved again in 2005 and 2008.
At the Oster Invitational Championships in Prague she became Grand European Champion, her highest grooming accolade. Zoe has been a member of the British Groom Team in the past years and one of the founder members of Groom Team England. Zoe is an enthusiastic groomer who is passionate about helping and teaching others to improve and further their skills. Zoe is the groomer many people aspire to emulate and her dedication and talent speak for themselves.
| Kristian Maris - BIGA Honorary Member Kristian is the Founder Chairman of The British Isles Grooming Association (BIGA) and, although not a pet groomer, he and his partner started Just Barking, a successful dog grooming salon in West London. They also created Dogs & Horses, one of the UK's leading dog accessory companies. He has written books, including The Dog Grooming Business Course and Amazon best-seller Howell's Code: the Joy and Duty of Dog Ownership. |
A former officer in the Canadian Navy, Kristian was educated at the Royal Military College of Canada and at the University of Cambridge. Kristian is a frustrated thespian (he tread the boards in his youth, including once as Lord Baden-Powell in an unconventional Footlights pantomime.. ). Had there been money in it, Kristian would have loved nothing better than to exist as a minor character in never-ending West End stage productions of Noel Coward plays. Kristian lives with his partner in West London along with their many ungrateful dogs.