Melissa Verplank has over 35 years of experience in the pet grooming industry. She has won numerous national and international awards for her grooming techniques. Verplank founded one of the largest pet styling training centers in the Midwest called The Paragon School of Pet Grooming. She later created educational products and websites to provide training materials for groomers. In 2007, Verplank opened Whiskers Resort & Pet Spa, a luxury kennel offering grooming, daycare, and overnight lodging, which has expanded over the years to now be over 30,000 square feet.