CATHY A. ROSS PROFILE

CATHY A. ROSS ~

~PROFESSIONAL DOG-HANDLER & GROOMER~

By: Vladimir Villarroel

The Ohio State University

From the moment I met Cathy Ross, I knew there was something special about her! Something most people don’t possess; an incredibly friendly, sweet and loving nature that just shines from within her! When you see Cathy Ross, it’s hard not to smile and be enlightened by her blissful charisma! Her sparkling blue eyes, endearing smile and embracing personality instantly make you feel welcomed and delighted to be around her! In a world where so many people are caught up in only themselves, Cathy Ross is a refreshing and invigorating breath of fresh air! A reminder that indeed there are nice people in the world! A woman who is beautiful on the outside and on the inside. A woman who is smart, talented and successful yet humble, caring and giving. Her positive attitude and optimistic approach towards life is inspiring and encouraging for everyone who has the pleasure of meeting her! You cannot be around her without catching the upbeat energy and vigor she has for everything she does! Everything she does, she does with passion and enthusiasm! It is incredible how you can go to her with any problem or trouble you may have and always walk away feeling better and hopeful!
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I love animals! Exclaims Cathy Ross. And I always had a dog growing up. I wanted my boys then ages three and five to have a dog and experience the same love for animals I had! So we purchased a liver and white, English Springer Spaniel. “Molly” was the best pet a family could have! She grew up with us a live 14 years! When she died (which is a whole other story) I wanted to find another liver female. Well, all I could find were black and white male, “show” quality dogs. I was getting frustrated. My oldest son Jake said, “Mom, Zach and I will be going to college soon and you’ll need a new hobby. Why don’t you get into showing dogs? You like to work with dogs and groom, and it would be a great hobby for you. You can do it!” So after some thought, I purchased an English Springer Spaniel puppy that I named “Archie” (“Suebell’s Wild Card”). He was my love! How can you not love a ball of fun loving “fluff” with a beautiful face and puppy breath! He was adorable!

There was a lot to learn. How to groom was my hardest achievement. Learning how to handle was my second. I thought I was in way over my head! I met a woman at training classes who had springers and was hoping she would take me “under her wing” and be the mentor I needed. I was at her house a lot watching her groom my boy. Boy! She could zip through him fast and get him looking great! I thought “I’ll never be able to groom an English Springer Spaniel!”

I entered my first show in Canfield Ohio. I was nervous, but ready. Boy it was a hot day, as Canfield always was! There were some beautiful springers there with gorgeous coats! Boy I sure hoped my boy would look like them some day! It was my turn to enter the ring. Arch stood and wiggled for the judge and let him go over him. The judge moved us into the front position. I thought, ok, we’re moving slow so he wants me to go in front. The girl behind me said, “Congratulations!” I said for what? She said, “You won!” I said, “I did?” “Oh my God!” I couldn’t believe it! Then, I had to go back in again with the winners of the other classes. I was “bitten” by the show bug!

Then, we traveled to Kentucky. Boy I loved going to shows and traveling! This was a big show! A five point major! I enjoyed the whole preparation! I was proud of how I had him looking! I remember riding to the ring; Archie’s ears were blowing in the breeze! Hadn’t learned about “vet wrap” yet! [Laughs]

I was ready! “Let’s give this a shot Arch, come on!” And into the ring we went with nine other dogs and with all the “big handlers!” Judge Ron Spritzer was the judge that day. He is a very nice man and cracked some jokes with me as he went over my dog. This helped me to relax! I remember telling him, “I came all the way from Pittsburgh!” “Ok Pittsburgh take him down and back please” he said. Then he pointed to Archie and I, “Go in front please” he said. My heart pounded as I moved to the front. “And that’s the way it will be!” “One, two, three and four!” he announced! I won! I won the five point major! A regular novice beat the big handlers! A large scream went up from the audience! It was the largest “whoop” I had heard from the springer ring! I couldn’t believe it! I was just thrilled and had the biggest smile on my face! I was so excited
to get home and tell all my friends!

I started out with this lady whom I hung with for two to three years. In the meantime Archie was becoming aggressive. I remember crying my heart out when he first growled an intentional serious growl.
Here was my cute little puppy that I had put my heart and soul into, growling at us! I not only had this whole learning and training situation to deal with, I had an animal that could possibly bite someone!

I went to a show in Cleveland, and walked around in hopes of finding some “springer folks”. I saw a woman grooming a springer and went to introduce myself. Her name was Judy Manley. She had me put Archie on the grooming table to trim on him when he growled at her! I made an excuse for him “He’s tired, it’s his first show!” Let’s see, what else could I make up? She handed me her business card. “Here you’re going to need my help” she said. She was right. I did need her help! She helped me with trying to save him because I wasn’t ready to let him go! It was hard living with a “time-bomb”! You didn’t know when he would go off! It took me a year to make the decision to put him down. Judy said to bring him to her house and she would let him be a “kennel-dog” for a while. That was a long hard drive to make. I gave him a hug. He barked but Judy said he would settle down. I cried some more ‘cause I knew I would never see him again.

Judy had two puppies jumping and playing! I had watched these two little guys being born!
I had always wanted one of Judy’s dogs! They were always so easy to be around and not mean at all! I had seen this with my own eyes! Then, Judy said, “Why don’t you take one of these boys home so you can see what it’s like to live with a nice dog!” I was very happy to do that! “Here, take Navy with you.” She said.

It was great having a nice dog around! Someone I knew was willing to take Archie. I was happy but scared too. He lived with my friend for three months, then, he bit her husband. Yikes! She had him put down. She called Judy, but Judy didn’t tell me until she was sure I could deal with the problem. When she told me I took a deep breath, you know when you get that sinking feeling in your stomach? Ugh! “…he was gone” [Sighs]. So sad, but it had to be.
But now I had this new little pup that was as sweet as sweet can be! And so good! He and I were attached at the hip! I called him my “Velcro-dog!” I was ready to start anew with him!

I guess you could say this is my passion! I love dogs, training and showing! I love getting them ready for the ring! I love the people and new friends
I meet at the shows, and they all have the same thing in common that I do! They love dogs! I have learned a lot and will be learning everyday in this hobby and “money pit”. I wondered if I would ever be able to groom a Springer and now I’m grooming other show dogs for people! And I’ve taken on grooming pets in the neighborhood to earn money to support my habit! I have close to 30 dogs I groom in the hood!

Getting a dog ready for the show ring is a daily project. You’ve got an animal here that you have to feed properly to get a good and healthy coat. You’ve got to condition him or her to have muscle. They are after all a sporting dog, so they should have muscle. Plus, you have to get in their head and make them confident to perform well. Then, you enter the show and hope to win. You take all your training and knowledge and put it all together in the show ring. And sometimes you win. I do say “sometimes”. This is a very political venue. This is the only sport in which you can compete against a professional dog handler and win. However, more often than not the handler wins with the judge not even looking at what’s on the end of their leash! But I keep plugging away at it in the hopes of winning the points and finishing my dog! Which is exactly what I did with Navy. I showed him to his Championship! Yes! Me! I did it! So I know my dog finished because he is a good dog worthy of the title of “Champion” and not just what was “at the other end of the leash!” At two and a half years I took this dog to a show in New York with Judy Manley and he became “Champion Vistah’s Navy”. My dog, my heart dog, he loves me and I love him! I now have a little female puppy that he fathered; she is the spitting image of him! She is a sweetie too, just like her Dad!

Cathy A. Ross & "Champion Vistah's Navy"

My future dreams are to produce wonderful dogs like Navy for others to love and live with without the worries of being bitten! To help someone in their dog-showing career. To give all the guidance and knowledge that was given to me. If you don’t give back what you’ve learned, you lose so much! I’ve learned from people how not to act as well as how to act. You see it in everyday life. God gives you a gift; everyone has different talents, different likes and dislikes. Take your gift and grow with it! How boring life would be if we didn’t pass on our passions to others who have our same hopes and dreams!


Cathy Ross currently resides in Baden, Pennsylvania with her husband of 34 years “Jim Ross” and her two beloved English Springer Spaniels “Navy” and “Envy”. She has two sons “Jake” and “Zach”, whom she is very close with. She continues to show her magnificent talent and astonishing dog-handling and grooming skills by being an avid dog-handler and groomer. This has allowed her to demonstrate her talent and expertise both inside and outside of the show-ring. She successfully finished her dog “Navy” and he was awarded his Championship title by the AKC (American Kennel Club). She is also well on her way
to finishing “Siobhan & Vistah’s Inis Arose”, (“Evie”), who needs only one more “major” win to become a champion!

She is the owner and designer of “Artistic Touch Pet Grooming” She is also a great contributor and devoted supporter of the “Vistah English Springer Spaniels” breeding program founded by her great and long-time friend Ms. Judy Manley. The Vistah English Springer Kennel has produced many great and remarkable champion English Springer Spaniels. To this day, it continues to produce some of the top leading English Springer Spaniels in the country.
She is extremely proud and honored to be a part of such an exceptional, distinguished and successful breeding program, which has provided the English Springer Spaniel breed as well as the sport of dog-showing with not only beautiful and extraordinary dogs, but most importantly healthy dogs with excellent temperaments!
Cathy, (along with Judy Manley who provided me with a great dog!), continues to be my mentor in this ever-grueling, demanding and often politically corrupt world of dog-showing. A world full of frustration, challenges and at times disappointments. A world full of arrogant, conceited and egotistical people. A world in which she shines bright to me for having shown me the way! The way to see that it can also be a world full of hope, dreams and achievements!
She has taught me to work hard, put passion into everything I do, and most importantly to not ever give up! I could not have picked a better person than her to be my guide in this long and difficult journey! She has given me so much! Her positivity hard work-ethic and passion for everything she does, have taught me to always put my best effort into everything I do, even when you are not sure if you are going to be successful and win! She’s taught me that even if you lose, you still accept it and grow from it! And you keep working at it and giving it your best!

She has taught me that you do what you do because you love it! If the victory comes, that’s just an extra! It’s a reward, not a guarantee! Even when you lose, you lose gracefully! She has helped to bring out the best in me! She has also helped me develop what she refers to as a “thick-skin”. She has always told me that I need to develop a “thick-skin” and not let stuff get to me or get me down! Most importantly, she has taught me that nothing is ever “too” hard. She tells me, “Nothing is ever easy, if you really want it!” “God never gives us more than we can handle!”
I have always believed that in life, things don’t just “happen” and that we don’t just “meet” people. I believe that everything happens for a reason, and that God puts people in our paths, and I am blessed that he put someone as special as Cathy in mine!