Staff

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Love Fur Dogs is a family-owned pet grooming business in Glencoe, Illinois, run by Jennifer Bishop-Jenkins, International Certified Master Groomer and Bill Jenkins. Jennifer is a Winnetka, Illinois native who was one of the early handful of people in the nation to attain the coveted title of Certified Master Groomer (CMG) back in the 1980’s. Jennifer and Love Fur Dogs were the first grooming salon in the Chicagoland area to become AKC S.A.F.E. Certified. Jennifer is the Founder and Past President of the Illinois Professional Pet Groomers Association and is a nationally known and respected Grooming Educator and leader in the Pet Grooming industry. Her training programs are found at www.GroomersGuide.com. 

Jennifer also holds multiple credentials in Canine Skin & Coat care, therapeutic products and coat type, Canine First Aid & CPR, and many other areas of Dog Grooming expertise. She serves on the national Leadership Council for NAGA, the National Alliance of Grooming Associations, and serves on a committee working with the World Pet Association to develop better standards for the grooming industry. Jennifer gained her dog experience and commitment to excellence from her decades dabbling in the Dog Show sport world. She has occasionally shown dogs in both conformation and obedience in several breeds including German Shepherd Dogs, Standard and Miniature Poodles, Cocker Spaniels, and Australian Shepherds. Jennifer also bred Himalayan cats and is a trained cat groomer.

Jennifer brings almost four decades of experience as a pet professional and is a published author and columnist in national groomer and local pet magazines, as well as national speaking honors nominated teacher at various grooming conferences. Jennifer’s acclaimed national seminar “A Groomers Guide To Purebred Dogs” is rich in history and science and is elevating the academic level of professional seminars for pet care professionals wherever she presents it, all over the nation. She is leading a national push to bring better awareness to the general grooming profession of the different types of coat and how each should be properly and separately groomed and is authoring a book soon to be published about “The Fifteen Coat Types and How To Correctly Groom Them”.

The year after Love Fur Dogs opened, Chicago Magazine and the Chicago Tribune named her the Best Dog Groomer in Chicagoland. The online community “NextDoor Winnetka” named Love Fur Dogs the most popular Dog Groomer for 2017. And Expertise.com using objective internet data ranked her in the co-equal top 20 Best out of 700 regional groomers in 2017.

Jennifer founded and serves on the Board of the Illinois Professional Pet Groomers Association. She appeared on Hulu Television’s Small Business Revolution Season Three as the Grooming Expert to help a small town, Alton, Illinois, business improve her pet grooming shop. See a promo here. See the episode here. Jennifer works hard every single day to bring her considerable expertise to the very best in care to your four-legged best friend.

Jennifer was born in Evanston, raised in Winnetka, and has lived for the last 20 years with her husband Bill Jenkins in Northfield. In addition to decades working with dogs, Jennifer’s primary career during her life has been that of a teacher. Jennifer is a retired award-winning career high school Social Studies teacher who then went on to work as a nationally respected advocate against violence and for crime victims after murders in her family. Jennifer led the effort to amend the Illinois Constitution in 2014 for increased legal protections for crime victims’ rights called “Marsy’s Law” and still works nationally in that movement. Jennifer is active in the Choir at Kenilworth Union Church.

Jennifer has owned a grooming shop in another state in the 1980’s, and has taught at three other vocational grooming schools nationally in the last four decades. Jennifer is widely noted for her excellent grooming and teaching skills when helping her staff and customers. Her broad knowledge, masterful artistry, and her flexibility and attention to detail in grooming; as well as her experienced wise and gentle handling with all her pet clients, is what brings customers back over and over to Love Fur Dogs.

Jennifer has made Love Fur Dogs especially known for doing the grooms most natural to the dog’s coat type, for longer hand-scissored haircuts and brush out of even the most tangled dogs, in an industry where too many others just shave most dogs down short. We hand-strip wire-coated breeds, we properly groom Rustic and Primitive coat types, and we NEVER shave down Fur-type dogs. 

Jennifer’s expertise in canine skin and coat informs her commitment to keep their coat as natural, healthy, and protective of their thinner skin as possible.

Bill Jenkins, co-owner and Business Manager, is a full time tenured Professor at Dominican University and an award-winning author. Bill is also a life-long dog lover who has volunteered in dog rescue for many years, and has been a long time Birder and Naturalist. Bill runs the business side of things at Love Fur Dogs. He adores our canine clients and enjoys greeting them in the lobby whenever he can. One of Bill and Jennifer’s favorite hobbies is to show their dogs, especially their Miniature Poodle Grand Champion Bowie and their new Australian Shepherd show girl “Dory”. 

Jennifer and Bill are picture above singing with their oldest, Max, at the Blessing of the Animals Christmas Service at Kenilworth Union Church. 

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Now – meet the rest of our staff! We are PROUD to boast a very multi-lingual staff!

Greeting you in our lobby, handling all appointments, check in and out, scheduling, and pretty much everything else is our amazing Office Manager Melissa. 

Our Groomers are Jennifer, Jessica A., Senaida, and Jesse D.

Our hard-working Groomer Assistants includes Julius, Jeremy, Alex, Matt, and Ken.

Our wonderful, devoted, and innovative Daycare Director is Claudia.

Our Saturday Receptionist is Kailynn.

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In addition to being a Master Groomer for all breeds and varieties of Dogs, Jennifer loves to groom all sorts of pets, from Cats to Rabbits to Guinea Pigs.

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Groomer Assistants show great care for your dogs in the bath and drying process. They are especially devoted in the application of our many therapeutic treatments that we provide for customers with skin and coat problems.

Jessica and Amanda work together to brush a shepherd mix.

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Our amazing Office Manager Melissa will book your appointments and check you in and out with efficiency and care. 

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Need a trusted pet and housesitter while you travel? Meet Max, Jennifer’s first-born, who is available for house-sitting locally. We have several staff members who are trusted and experienced Pet Sitters.

Our dedicated and expert staff specializes in catering to the individual needs of your pet.