About 3,000 dog groomers from across the country wanted to be in "Groomer Has It," the new Animal Planet show that puts dog groomers in the same reality TV show spin as chefs, hair stylists and fashion designers.

Only 12 made it to the show, which airs Saturday nights at 9. One of them, Jon Bannon, is from Adamstown.

"It's a diverse group of people. They were looking for people who were creative and successful. They asked you what made you different, what makes you passionate," explains Bannon.

"Everyone plays a character. I'm just glad I'm not considered the jerk or the dumb blonde."

The show is hosted by Jai Rodriguez, best known as the culture/society guru on "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy." His Yorkshire terrier, Nemo, who delivers the challenges to the groomers, also stars.

Each week the show features a different elimination challenge in which all the groomers compete. Three judges vote for the best and worst, and the groomer voted the worst is eliminated.

Competition continues until there is only one groomer left.

The show has aired for two weeks, and Bannon is still in the running. The winner will receive $50,000 and a mobile grooming van.

And while Bannon obviously knows how things turned out in the filming, he isn't allowed to reveal anything specific.

"It's tough not being able to say anything," he says.

But he had a good time doing the show.

"We all got along pretty well," Bannon says. "I think that's because we all prefer to work with dogs. But it did get intense."

Bannon's entrepreneurial skills were no doubt a part of his appeal. At 21, he already has two grooming shops, Total Dog and Little Cat, in Adamstown, and J.B.'s Doggie Styles in Blue Ball. He operates both with his partner, Lori Stick.

"I'm the business person, and he's the creative one," says Stick.

But the 2005 Garden Spot High School graduate isn't all about intensity. His audition video tape shows a calm, easygoing guy who has been working with dogs since he was 13 and got a job scooping dog feces.

But as he joked in the tape (view at www.groomerhasit.com), "I was scooping the best dog poop at one of the most prestigious kennels in the country."

That was the Greenfield-Yarrow Kennels in Bowmansville, where he watched highly skilled groomers and dog handlers closely.

After graduating from high school, he went to the New York School of Dog Grooming and then opened a small shop in Mohnton.

"I always liked dogs," Bannon says. "Being a groomer, there's always something different every day. I get bored easily, so it's nice to have the variety. "

The first challenge on the show was to detangle and groom a yarn dog, a training aid which basically looks like a mop.

"I'd never worked with a yarn dog, but they're becoming popular as models," Bannon says. "I didn't win but I didn't lose. I came out right in the middle."

Bannon brought the yarn dog home to Adamstown, but unfortunately, his dog, Sprout, attacked it.

Last week, the show's contestants had to groom a bearded collie. Once again, he did performed well, though he wasn't one of the groomers whose clip-and-crop showmanship grabbed all the air time.

But he is getting noticed in the grooming world.

"We went to a grooming show in New Jersey the other day and women were running up to him," says Stick.

Bannon knew the television exposure would help his new business in Adamstown, where doggie day care is offered along with grooming.

The shop is located at 30 Willow Street in Adamstown, in an old renovated firehouse. Bannon lives in the apartment upstairs.

On Saturday, Bannon and Stick plan an open house at the shop. They will be offering $20 dog baths, with proceeds going to United Against Puppy Mills and New Life Assistance Dogs.

FYI...
What: Adamstown man on "Groomer Has It"
Network: Animal Planet
When: Saturday nights at 9

 Reality dog grooming

Staff writer Jane Holahan can be reached at jholahan@LNPnews.com or 481-6016