Three professionals. One care plan per patient.

• ✓Doctor of Veterinary Medicine — Washington State University, 2009
• ✓Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist (CAAB) — Animal Behavior Society
• ✓Fear Free Certified Professional · Level 3
• ✓IVAPM Certified Veterinary Pain Practitioner

Behavior consultations · grooming protocols for medically complex patients · multimodal pain management for senior pets · ethical sedation guidance

Dr. Santos spent eight years in small-animal general practice in Bellevue and three years on the behavior service at WSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital. She opened Calm Coat in 2020 after watching one too many post-grooming patients come into her exam room shaking. She still consults for two rescue organizations and lectures on fear-free handling at the Washington State Veterinary Medical Association annual meeting.

• →"Cooperative Care Protocols for Brachycephalic Patients" — JAVMA, 2022
• →Co-author, WSAVA Low-Stress Handling Guidelines (2023 revision)

• ✓NCMG — National Certified Master Groomer
• ✓Fear Free Grooming Specialist Certification
• ✓Orthopedic Handling Course — Veterinary Information Network
• ✓Pet First Aid & CPR — RECOVER Initiative

Post-rescue dogs · bite-risk handling · senior orthopedic patients · matted coat triage · double-coat de-shedding without razor damage

Chris is one of fewer than 250 NCMG-certified groomers in the Pacific Northwest. Before Calm Coat, he worked nine years at a high-volume Seattle grooming chain — and quit to come help build a model that did not rely on the muzzle-and-restrain shortcuts he had been trained on. He invented our "two-touch maximum" intake protocol: any patient who flinches twice during the first ten minutes of a session gets paused for a vet check.

• →Featured in Groomer to Groomer Magazine (Feb 2023) — "Slow Grooming: Why I Refuse to Hurry"

• ✓Registered Veterinary Technician — Washington State
• ✓Animal Behavior Technician (ABT) — IAABC
• ✓AAHA Practice Manager — in progress
• ✓PennHIP and OFA Radiographic Positioning trained

Intake assessments · behavior history triage · medical communication between Calm Coat and your primary DVM · post-appointment follow-through

Alex was a critical-care RVT for six years before joining the Calm Coat team in 2021. They handle every new-patient intake — a forty-minute meeting that includes a body-condition score, behavior history, and a written care plan signed by Dr. Santos. If your dog is on medication, on a special diet, or coming off a difficult grooming history, Alex is the person who writes that into the chart and makes sure the groomers see it before scissors come out.

• →Guest contributor, Today's Veterinary Technician Journal — "The Behavior History Intake You Are Probably Skipping"