Anyone watch Jaclyn Smith's reality show, "Shear Genius"? It's on every Wednesday on Bravo. Hairstylists compete to be crowned "Shear Genius" in many hair-raising/styling challenges. I think I could be a candidate for that show because of the weird haircuts I have given my dogs over the years.

My dog Zoe suffers in the summer because of her thick fur. She starts to bite and scratch because of hot spots.

She's part spitz, part papillon and who knows what else. Her coat is extremely thick. I even have to cut the hair between the footpads because her hair is so long and bushy.

I'm not exactly sure what the price of a doggie 'do is today, but I've always been the family pet "official" groomer to save on costs and time. I bought a pair of doggie clippers from Amazon .com several years ago specifically made for pet hair so it doesn't catch and cuts fairly smoothly — although Zoe does get a few "rat bites" once in a while when I'm not careful.

Two summers ago, the clipper guide fell off while I was trimming the back of her neck, leaving two huge bald spots. During a routine office visit, veterinarian Scott Harada jokingly said he wanted to "biopsy" the balding spots to find the cause!

I love experimenting with the different-length guides, so Zoe never looks the same after each cut. Whenever I pick up those clippers, the mad artist in me emerges.

On Sunday, I started madly clipping, encouraged by the sweltering heat. White tufts of hair flew in different directions creating a mess in the garage. This time, I shaved the hair extremely close around her face, chest, butt and legs, trying to make her look like a short-hair dog. I felt practically giddy watching her curls fall to the garage floor. I left her tail slightly fluffy, the only remnant of her papillon/spitz heritage.

In a matter of 20 minutes — voila! — Zoe had a close-cropped shave and was already looking much more comfortable with most of her fur coat gone. She got a cool water shampoo, followed by a quick blow-dry and was ready for her afternoon nap.

My client is always satisfied with her haircut. But after all these years, I'm still waiting for a tip.

Animal lover Leslie Kawamoto has been with the Advertiser for 18 years, or 126 in dog years. Check out her blog at www.HonoluluAdvertiser.com/Blogs