Kirsten was born and raised in Ocala, FL. She grew up with a natural love for all animals and from a very young age knew she wanted to work with animals in some way. As a child she grew up with many pets, everything from cats and dogs to aquatic pets. Not surprisingly as soon as she could be involved with 4-H and FFA that she was, holding many different officer positions and being involved with as many different animals as she could be. From middle school age to just past high school she showed rabbits, chickens, goats, dogs, cows/steers/heifers, horses, etc. She is also very involved in the rabbit and dog show community still after all these years, breeding, grooming, training, and show handling her own animals. She was also hired on at a Jack Russell kennel with over 160 dogs, during high school she was able to major in veterinary assisting and animal behavior which she excelled in. However it was at this Jack Russell kennel that she was able to learn how to groom dogs properly, she did everything from haircuts to proper bathing and quickly fell in love with dog grooming. After high school graduation she furthered her education and became a veterinary technician working in the field for over 5 years, 12 hours a day often helping seeing 40 or so pets/rooms a day. That love of grooming stayed however and eventually she was able to groom with Petsmart being able to train at their accredited grooming academy, learning and picking up new and different skills such as hydrotherapy. She worked for Petsmart for about 3 years while even becoming the salon safety manager then went on to work at a few other salons both in the Villages area and Ocala area. Where she saw a need in Ocala and surrounding areas for flexible, caring, mobile groom salons so she decided to use her skills and knowledge to open a professional mobile pet grooming spa. At the Paradise Pet Spaw LLC and in everyday life in general she strives for a gentle, caring, safe touch and environment where your pets feel at home because pets are family and deserve to be treated in a calming, safe, loving environment that feels like home. You can often find her at grooming conventions and expos around the US continuing her education, honing her skills and learning about the best products, equipment and techniques to use for or on your fur-kids.