Fur Town was founded by Christopher Jackson in 2017. Christopher has been involved in dog grooming since he started as a bather at the age of 12. It started as a hobby that made him some extra money, but he found that he loved it so much that he decided to make it a career. By the time he was 18, he became a Salon Manager for various Petco stores before moving on to Petsmar, where he worked as an instructor training and certifying students in the art of dog grooming for nearly a decade. During his time with Petsmart, he eventually earned the recognition as one of the top 3 Academy Instructors AND Salon managers for the entire company. For many years, his photo could be seen in any Petsmart salon in the country!

Throughout his career, Chris has managed over 15 salons all over California for companies both large and small, as well as a mobile grooming business and his own salon in Hollywood, CA. He has shown Standard Poodles and Springer Spaniels in grooming competitions and has won many awards, including Top 20 in the World at Super Zoo in Las Vegas, Nevada.

In January of 2015, Chris opened California’s first state-approved vocational college for dog grooming inside a friend’s dog boarding facility in Pasadena. It quickly out-grew the space, so on April 1st, 2017, Chris opened Fur Town in Arcadia, CA. Later that year, Chris brought on Jessica Johnson as Co-Owner to assist him with running the school and salon.

Jessica has 14 years of experience as a feline and canine behaviorist, is Certified Feline Master Groomer (CFMG) with the National Cat Groomers Institute. She is also the Chief Academic Officer of West Coast Grooming Academy. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Animal Science- Pre-Veterinary and has appeared on numerous tv shows such as “My Cat From Hell” with Jackson Galaxy and Kate Benjamin of Hauspanther, “Shelter Me” on PBS, and “The All American Dog Rescue Celebration.” 

The salon proved to be a success, and in 2018 we began offering mobile grooming services with our first van. Our fleet has since grown to 4 vans, servicing most of Los Angeles County. Then on December 4th, 2019 the school was offered a space inside the Wallis Annenberg Petspace in Playa Vista to open a second campus. In January of 2022 West Coast Grooming Academy and Fur Town officially separated into individual entities to allow each entity to grow and reach its full potential. Shortly after, on February 28th, 2022, Fur Town opened its second location in La Verne, CA, managed by Alyssa Solis, a graduate of West Coast Grooming Academy. Alyssa is a Certified Dog and Cat Groomer with many years of experience in the field. After the La Verne location opened, the Arcadia Salon was then managed by Noelia Ledesma, another former graduate of West Coast Grooming Academy and Certified Dog and Cat Groomer. Both ladies are highly skilled at their craft and are well equipped to take our brand of high-end, low-stress salons into the next phases of growth.

Fur Town is proud to support women in leadership!