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Our Team
K-Dee Glazebrook
General Manager
When K-Dee was first hired she was 19 years old. That was nearly 20 years ago. She impressed Jarbas from the very beginning for her energy and drive. He saw her dedicate herself to her growing family with the same determination that she had displayed at the store. For her the welfare of the visiitng pets and the respect to their owners was always paramount. Even today she says that good quality work and respect to the promissed times are the things that matter the most for her. No wonder Jarbas saw in her somebody that could perpetuate The Dog from Ipanema mission in the years to come.
Jackie Lopez-Chaves
Groom Team Manager
Jackie is the employee that currently holds the record for the most time with the company. For the last 32 years she has been part of the team and has learned with Jarbas how to deliver quality work while respecting the pets rigths. She has earned her position trough her dedication. Every time that Jarbas needed her she was there for the team. she, like Marsha, waited six years until securing her position as a senior groomer and now is the leader of the groomers. She guides them with all that she learned while working with Jarbas and he is very thankfull of her dedication. Jackie was born in Cuba and moved to America at age four.
Octavio Pena-Gonzalez
Prep Team Supervisor
Octavio has had a life with dogs. He was a respected and prize winning dog show handler and groomer in Cuba and then in Mexico. With Al (Jarbas husband and the previous supervisor) he has learned to control the flow of work in the Preparation Area that is needed to keep the groomers with the ready to trim dogs all day long. Jarbas always said that without the bathers, dematters and blow dryers a good salon cannot function.Not an easy task when you have seven groomers that need fully washed and dried pets every hour of the day.
Gabriela Yanez-Munoz
Front desk Maven
Gaby amazes Jarbas and K-Dee with her hability to juggle the phone lines at the same time that she handles clients that need to let her know all the details of what they need for their babes. And she rarely misses a beat. Always with a pleasant dispositon Gaby brigthens the front desk of the Dog from Ipanema everyday. We definitely love to have her as a member of Team Ipanema. From Portugal Jarbas msses the great hughes he always got from her. Originally from Chile she is another prized member of the international team of The Dog from Ipanema.
Annette Quick
Senior Groomer
Annette has been with us for more than 20 years. In 1989 she was named Best of America based in her wins in Grooming Tournaments. As a member of GroomTeam USA she helped the country win Gold and silver Internationally. She did travel a lot sharing her knowledge and Jarbas was thrilled when she was looking for a sunnier place to live than her native Nebraska. Her high level work is credited with bringing The Dog from Ipanema to a higher level of quality.
Kathleen Jeffreis
Groomer
Kathy has been with us for a very long time. She has been a pet groomer all her life. She came to us after a few decades in a well know animal hospital in town. She now works part time as time is inclement and she needs rest like our founder. She has been grooming for over 40 years. Several os our long time clients do request Kathy for the services of their dogs. Kathy is one of the rare Miami born meber of the team and a lover of Great Danes.
Patricia Walbornn
Senior Groomer
Another Merrifield graduate Pat was one of the best groomers in Rio de Janeiro before moving back to the USA. She has been with the team for 3 periods of time having left when interesting opportunities shone in the horizon. Her high level of professionalism always opened back the doors of The Dog from Ipanema when she wanted to be part of us again. She also is the maker of the beautiful bows that are used in some many of the beautiful grooming jobs that we do.
Marsha Rolle
Groomer
Some groomers find their home with us and are able to wait a long time for a position in the lead team.
Marsha impressed us with her compassion for the most frail and needy visitors. She could make Jarbas cry with her compassion and patience. She did wait for eigth years as her talent developed and she was finally promoted. We are so happy she moved from The Bahamas to Miami with her two sons and found us.
Victor Vegas
Senior Groomer
Victor started with us about 15 years ago. He worked closely with Jarbas and learned Hand Stripping (an old art form of grooming where most of the grooming is done with one's fingers). During tha first year he was exposed to the details of terrier trimming. He is also an asset for our team considering his many decades of experience in the field . Victor came from Venezuela where he was a recognized pet groomer.
Angela Kunz
Junior Groomer
Angela is another sweet asset of our team. She is finishing a long study program at Merrifield Kennels in her nites and days off. In the last months that Jarbas was here he was impressed with the skills that she was developing having spent some time with her personally to improve her work. He found very little to improve in her skills. Now a days she helps K-Dee assure that the best look is delivered to our clients. She has a eye for good design and we hope that she will remain with the team for a long time.
Ailin Alvarez
Senior Groomer
She is the youngest of our senior groomers. Another graduate from Merrifield she spent few years in another good salon in Miami and when she ready for more challenging work she looked for us. When asked by Jarbas "do you have pictures of your work?" what she showed to him got her an instant invitation for a try out. He was impressed!
She scissors beautfully and her sweet disposition with people and pets made her loved by the team.
Alexis Perez
Groomer Assistant
Alexis combines a sweet disposition and an enormous love for dogs with an intrepid personality as he is a fire breather/performer in his free time.
He has a few very large babies and is one of the best bathers we have seen. He also is in line for a supervisory position in the Preparation Area as he understands the importance of respecting the visiting babies as much as respecting the promissed times for their parents.
Tania Jimenez Cedeno
Groomer Assistant
Tania is a theater major that has found her love in our profession. We have seeing Tania grow into what promisses to be a great professional. She is starting soon a long program at Merrifield Kennels to acquire skills to be one top groomer. Her super sweet disposition has made her able to handle the most fearfull of all babies. When no one can wash and dry a small fearfull dog that is when Tania shines.
Yerwing Cortez
Groomer Assistant
Yerwin is a promissing assistant. He has demonstrated that he focus in the welfare of our visiting clients. He is responsible and reliable and having been an owner of a small business in his country of birth (Venezuela) he understands the importance of a satisfied client. He impressed the management because he also is a dedicated parent. We trust he is a wonderful addition to our team.
Ian Rodriguez
Groomer Assistant
Ian is another pet lover that has been with us for few years. He has demonstrated an hability to handle matted coats like few we have seen. He also has learned with Jarbas and Al cording techniques used in rare breeds that use our services like Komondor.We believe Ian will be a great all around professional in no time at all. His sweet demenor (with people and pets) has captivated the management attention.
Ashley Perera
Front Desk
Ashley was one of the last members of the team to be hired by Jarbas before his departure. Her clear love for the visiting dogs and her expansive smile while managing the needs of our clients over the phone and in person were deciding factors in her selection. She also is directly helping Jarbas manage the interests of the store virtually by uploading material tha needs his attention. It feels like she has been with us for a long time.
Elias Martinez
Groomer Assistant
Elias come to us from a past experience as an assistant from a very busy Pet Mobile Unit. He has proven to be reliable team member and a pet lover like all of us. He has adopted The Dog from Ipanema Way and many of our regular visiting clients (like Lola- the very happy retriver recently featured in a short in Instagram) run to the back and rigth into his tub.
Jarbas Godoy
Founder
Thirty eigth years ago our founder opened the salon in Coral Gables.
The business immediatly generated some buzz due to its innovative clean and open style and the way that the doggie clients loved to visit. The Dog from Ipanema way was born out of the idea that pets needed to be heard and that grooming should not be unconfortable. He is now retired and living in Portugal with his husband and long time partner Al. More information about them in the Founding Ipanema page.
Caterine Solano
Groomer Assistant
Caterine is a very hard
working person and asset for our company. We don't know where she finds the energy to also be a Tick-Tocker.
She is smart and also promisses to grow with us. At the present time Caterine also takes care of her own clients in her days off at her house where she built a mini-salon. Always the entrepeneur. We always admire hard working associates that dream big. Go for it Caterine!