The loss of a legend
by Teri DiMarino

Each segment of life has its legends. Music has Beethoven, Bach and Mozart. The art world has Rembrandt, Van Goth and Picasso and the pet styling industry was blessed with Liz Paul.

Born into a show dog family in Bournemouth, England, Elizabeth Susan Wright was destine to become the single most decorated pet stylist in the history of the industry. Her entry to the United States, with her family in 1974, brought her into the American dog show scene, where she continued showing Poodles. In her first grooming contest, in the late 1970’s, Liz garnered a Best Groomed Dog in Show award and, what was to be a lifelong passion began.

A top ranked GroomTeam USA stylist, Liz was in the Top Ten nearly every year from its inception in 1988, as part of the infamous hand-picked “Dream Team”, to 2004. The three years that Liz was not ranked was because she did not compete. In those years Liz graciously stepped aside to help her sister, Julie, launch her own competition career. Over her career time, Liz managed to win the Best Groomed Dog in Show and the Best All Around Groomer awards at every major show in the US. Concurrently, Liz was also making her mark as a judge. Her fairness was matched only by her speed and efficiency. Constructive input to the competitors showing under her was taken very seriously as “mini lessons” and the improvements manifested in the contestants grooming showed that these lessons were well heeded. These ring accomplishments netted Liz the Cardinal Crystal Grooming Achievement Awards for not only American Groomer of the Year but also for Judge of the year. Liz also holds the record as the only four time winner of Intergroom.

While success in the States abounded, Liz took her magic abroad as a winning member of many international GroomTeam USA competitions. Her contributions always helped the USA team consistently stay in the medals.

Back home, Liz was an integral part of the NDGAA certification program, helping set many of the breed guidelines still followed today by that organization.

All recorded history making aside, Liz’s greatest accomplishments were the setting of standards for grooming excellence both in the ring and the salon. Her style, flair and precision remain unequaled. To “groom like Liz” was perceived as the model of excellence. The goal of many a new stylist was to compete against Liz, with the possibility of placing over her in the class. This did not happen very often but, when it did, the accomplishment meant that that person had “arrived” in the grooming community. Liz’s work quickly became the barometer by which contest grooming was measured. A mentor to many, Liz privately tutored some of the top winning groomers, thus propagating her own legacy.

Liz successfully carried her competitive standards over to the salon. A hard worker, Liz prided herself in grooming her pet clientele with the same precision and care as her contest dogs. She truly loved dogs! Her greatest accomplishment in life, she simply stated, was “becoming a dog groomer.”

Liz was a gourmet cook and an accomplished artist. She worked effortlessly in pencil and pen and ink. Liz’s personal life stayed in the shadows to most people that saw her only at industry trade shows. A shy person by nature, she was never comfortable behind a speaker’s podium but when put behind a grooming table with a model dog the audience was guaranteed a comprehensive grooming demonstration that they would never forget.

Liz leaves behind more than a legacy. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree and Liz’s daughter, Becky, has already made her presence known in the professional grooming arena. Becky recently gifted Liz with her first grandchild, Lillian Marie, and Liz spoke of her fondly. Liz is also survived by her father, George Wright, her older brother, Christopher Wright, and younger sister, Julie Ostoski.

The grooming world will never be quite the same. Liz Paul established industry standards that are followed by many groomers today. These standards will be passed on for grooming generations to come. The eye of the dragon is said to possess the sight that transcends time and space. Liz, like her beloved dragons, will transcend time in a way she could never imagine. Hopefully she knows that her ongoing fear of not being remembered will never come to fruition.

Elizabeth "Liz" Paul, 52, passed away Saturday January 7th, 2006 at her father's home.