Help Me Rebuild “Doodles & Friends by Manny”

Hello everyone. My name is Emily Hernandez and I am writing this on behalf of our beloved Doodle Groomer- "Manny" per his request. Manny has been grooming our doodles for years and we all know he is the best Doodle Groomer in town. Manny has found himself in a difficult place and recently lost his business location where he would groom all of our doodles. He is trying to transition to get back to doing what he loves. Please read his story that he has asked me to share for your willingness to support him so that he can get back on his feet.

"I've been dog grooming for 14 years now. Although grooming is my passion and I love it, running a business is extremely hard. Even though I have experience in running big businesses for other companies, running your own business is very personal and you take great pride in every detail of it. I found a space and tried to make something out of an extremely challenging location. I tried so hard to make it a welcoming, warm, and fun place to visit. I put in a lot of money into the location just to make it presentable enough despite the structural damages and continuous issues with the landlord that refused to fix anything. The problems with the unit became so unbearable, and out of frustration with the landlord and the conditions, I began to withhold rent until the work was completed. They would start the work, and then leave things unfinished in more deplorable conditions. One time when work was left half done, it started raining and there was a leak inside that damaged my equipment of which they never took any responsibility for any of the damage that they caused, or the loss of income when they would not show up and I would have to cancel appointments. I was served with papers, or a summons, and unfortunately having never gone through this before- I did not know that I needed to respond and thought I just had to show up to court. Unfortunately, due to my ignorance with these kinds of legal issues, they won an eviction verdict on me- despite the slum landlord conditions and gross negligence of my tenant rights and the property conditions.

Sadly, I had no idea what to expect or what to do. Nobody ever came, responded to me, or ever contacted me. I figured I would have to hear from someone before things progressed. Until one morning, last Thursday. The landlord showed up without notice and told me I had 1 1/2 hours to remove all of my belongings from the property. I did the best I could, but most things ended up going into the trash. I prioritized removing as much of my equipment and supplies as possible, and left most of my personal items behind. Anyways, I had been looking at shops to transition to. I thought I had a good lead, but then it did not work out at the last minute. 2 other locations that looked good seemed promising, but it has been really hard to get a hold of them, or consistent communication and follow through. With this, I decided to just focus on grooming because it was the only thing I know how to do and is healing for me. The other hardest part of this situation is that my dog "Hank"- most of you know him- was picked up by the city because they reported him as abandoned because I had nowhere to put him. I left him in the yard while I was trying to groom, and when I came back for him- he wasn't there. This is the hardest part for me, on top of everything else, they took my dog. This is hard but part of me says he would be better somewhere else.

This morning 7/24/24, I was the victim of a violent assault that I can't believe I was a part of. It was such a long experience and all I could do is call God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit to help me. There was a moment I realized that if I did not fight back, this man could kill me and he was trying to do so by pinning me down repeatedly, punching my face and body. Somehow I found the strength to fight back. I'm glad that he did not look around the area because I had my tools nearby. I think he could have seriously hurt me or killed me, had he seen them. I know that it was God's presence watching over me because I would not be here to tell you this if he had gotten scissors, or the large pole that was nearby. I would have been plummeted to death.

With this, I am humbly asking for the support of my doodle doggie community. This is the hardest thing ever and I never wanted to do this, but unfortunately, I am at a low point and need the support of my community to get back on track so that I can continue doing what I love. Grooming your doggies is my passion, and honestly my therapy and healing. I am asking for any form of donation to help me with the damages and losses to my business so that I can get re-established at another location nearby. If you find it in your heart to support me during this very difficult time, I would greatly appreciate it. Any amount will help. I am currently doing in-home grooming to help stay afloat, but am working so hard to get started in another location. As always, thank you for your support, and thank you for reading my story.