Dog groomer and TikTok influencer Vanessa De Prophetis with Norman the Newfoundland dog, a rescue from the Niagara Falls Humane Society.Vanessa De Prophetis/Supplied
A huge husky takes centre stage in Vanessa De Prophetis’s shower stall: Tenzin is about to experience his first professional grooming.
“He was formerly a street dog and is now learning about luxury – against his will,” intones the dog groomer in her voiceover.
Like all videos by the Niagara Falls-based content creator, this one contains trademark elements: a dog or cat in need, a unique trait (in this case, Tenzin’s extravagant coat of thick fur), challenges to be overcome (escape attempts and “operatic” protests), and De Prophetis’s dry millennial delivery. This plotline has racked up views and comments from more than 10 million followers across Girl with The Dogs’ social media channels, rivalling the average first season viewership of hit TV show The Pitt.
Slathering Tenzin in conditioner, De Prophetis deadpans: “Because if we’re going to go through trauma, we are going to do it moisturized.”
“He cried, he screamed, he punched the dryer like it owed him money,” she says as she blow-dries the howling dog, tufts of undercoat flying in the air. The five-minute video ends in payoffs for dog and viewers alike as Tenzin goes from mildly dishevelled to stunningly fluffacious.
Girl with the views
De Prophetis launched her @girlwiththedogs TikTok to almost immediate success in 2020. “Everybody at that time was grooming their pets at home. So I think that’s the reason why it initially went off,” she says.
While her goal was to provide how-to videos for dog owners cut off from their professional groomers, De Prophetis – a lifelong animal lover who segued from human hairstyling to dog grooming in 2011 – no longer works as a professional groomer. She grooms free of charge, picking animals “in desperate need,” and relying on ad revenue from YouTube and Facebook, plus sales of her pet-care line.
“I will also prioritize young kittens and puppies because I find it educational to teach people how I introduce them to grooming,” De Prophetis says, adding early introduction is key for dogs like huskies, doodles, toy breeds and others who will need regular bathing and brushing.
She knows many of her followers are pet-free, guessing some are drawn to videos with clickbait titles like: Killer American Akita Has Love Affair With The Blow Dryer (8.7 million views), Why We DON’T LIKE Pitbulls, (7.3 million views) and The Sumo Wrestler Cat Named Biggie Smalls | 43 POUNDS? (5.4 million views).
The Biggie Smalls video produces such lines as: “I’d call this a roast, but this cat would probably eat it,” and “Can I pick you up? That’s more a question for me than it is for you.”
De Prophetis tries to make her videos funny, to reach the widest possible audience and teach pet owners the importance of regular grooming. That’s why De Prophetis prioritizes rare and high-need breeds in videos. Husky Dog Grooming Transformation You’ll Love is required viewing for anyone who wants to know just how deep a pile of fur can get (spoiler: pretty damn deep).
People sometimes acquire pets based on looks, but the animal ends up unsuitable for their lifestyle, she says. “So I do my best to educate people on breeds so that they make the right decision when they purchase a pet.”
Barely A Dog Rescue
Earlier this year, De Prophetis founded Barely A Dog Rescue, focused on small dogs and cats. The non-profit provides veterinary care and matches animals with foster homes until they can be adopted. It also provides financial assistance for pet owners who can’t afford veterinary care or grooming. It was inspired by an interaction De Prophetis had when she was 21 and agreed to groom a collie for a client who was down on his luck and living in a hotel while ill.
“That’s when I noticed she had fleas and her skin was not in great shape and she had worms and that bothered me. I didn’t want to bring that dog back knowing that it was probably going to live the rest of its life like that,” says De Prophetis, who offered to take the dog to the vet and to pay for her care.
Vanessa De Prophetis/Supplied
“Being a groomer, you witness a lot of neglect that’s not necessarily because the owner doesn’t want to help, it’s usually because the owner can’t afford it,” she says. She remembers thinking she can’t help everyone.
But today she’s come full circle. “Now I have millions of people that watch me. I figured it would be possible for me to start a non-profit that could help people just like that dog and that human by leveraging my community to donate.”
It’s a formula that’s changing lives, one “Fat, Loud, and VERY Opinionated” and “NIGHTMARES do come true 😐…insane session with a Tibetan Mastiff” at a time.