Hi, my name is Chrystal and I'm the owner of Sweet Panda Pet Care. I come from a long line of animal lovers and have therefore had the privilege of growing up with animals of all shapes and sizes. Small dogs, big dogs, fluffy dogs, stray cats, fuzzy cats, fish, birds, and reptiles are just some of the faces that could be seen running through our house at any given time. In Junior high and high school I also had my fair share of experience with our hooved friends as a member of the 4-H Horsemanship club and as an occasional farm-sitter for family friends.
After leaving my rural lifestyle in Hawai'i and moving to the "big city life" of California, I was unable to have the pets that I wanted and was so used to. When I finally settled in to Encinitas, I began volunteering at the North County Humane Society so that I could still be around animals. I eventually applied for a job as a dog bather because as we all know, if it's something you love, it isn't work! I proved myself as a strong bather (believe me, it isn't as easy as it sounds!) and was sent to dog grooming school where I received a certificate as a professional dog groomer.
Due to a case of tendinitis, I had to put my dog grooming career on hold and went back to school to get my degree in Criminology where I hope to pursue something in the area of animal justice. I am still an active dog walker at the North County Humane Society. Not only do I get to spend quality time with dogs and take part in their finding a forever home, it has given me the experience to handle dogs of all breeds, sizes and dispositions thus making me comfortable in many situations.
The inspiration of the Sweet Panda name came from my best bud, Jericho, who you can probably guess is the guy pictured many times in this website. It isn't hard to see where the panda nickname came from and the sweet part... well, you'd just have to meet him! My apologies to those of you who were hoping I took care of real pandas =)