Meet Sam Russell: The Groomer Behind Russell's Mobile Grooming
From an idea in their parents' kitchen to a one-on-one mobile salon serving the Hamilton area.
AD18 Local Profile. Russell's Mobile Grooming was selected for editorial coverage by AD18 following Sam Russell's participation in Karoot's rescue grooming day supporting dogs at Mattie's Place. No payment was received for this coverage.
Before Russell’s Mobile Grooming had a mobile setup, competition results or years of client dogs behind it, Sam Russell and their brother Martin were talking through an idea in their parents’ kitchen.
Sam had worked for two different grooming corporations and kept seeing the same problem: getting a dog to an appointment is not always simple. Some owners cannot easily make the trip. Some dogs hate car rides.
Their answer was straightforward: if getting to the groomer is the hard part, bring the groomer to the dog.
That idea became Russell's Mobile Grooming, a Hamilton-based family business serving Hamilton, Hamilton Mountain, Binbrook, Stoney Creek, Ancaster and Dundas.
“We bring the luxury grooming services to your driveway!” Sam says.
The idea started at home
Before the mobile setup, Sam was already taking grooming directly to clients in homes and apartments, building Russell's one appointment at a time. They had their first business cards printed, began growing a client base and started shaping the personal style that still defines the business today.
Creative grooming was part of that personality from early on. One of Sam's first colourful transformations was an orange Halloween tail on a senior Shih Tzu named Sethie — an early glimpse of what would eventually become one of their signatures.
Today, Russell's operates as a mobile service, but the original idea has stayed the same: make grooming easier to access and give each dog Sam's full attention.
One-on-one grooming, with Sam at the centre
Convenience gets the salon to the driveway, but Sam is what makes the appointment personal.
For dogs that are nervous, unsure or simply need a little more patience, Sam's one-on-one approach gives them the time to work at the dog's pace, with humour and care along the way.
Sometimes Sam has backup. Hodu and Cashew, their two canine mascots, regularly spend time around the business and can help some dogs settle in. Watching them play with a freshly groomed client before or after a 'spaw day' is one of Sam's favourite parts of the job.
Creative grooming became Sam's signature
Sam also handles the everyday essentials — baths, haircuts, nail care, ear cleaning and teeth brushing. For baths, they say Russell's uses Canadian grooming products.
But creative grooming is where their personality really comes through. Over the years, Sam has used pet-safe colour for everything from small accents to much more elaborate looks.
“Anyone who wants to add a splash of colour to their pups look ... is a pup Sam wants to groom!”
1ST PLACE
Salon Creative
Spring CPE 2026
TruNorth Grooming Show
View official winner list
2ND PLACE
Salon Creative
2026 Ottawa Ontario Grooming Show
Visit official event site
Sam won first place in Salon Creative at the Spring CPE 2026 TruNorth Grooming Show and says they placed second in Salon Creative at the 2026 Ottawa Ontario Grooming Show. They are two standout accomplishments in a creative-grooming journey they have been developing for years.
Those results did not happen in isolation. Sam continues to invest in their craft through professional education, seminars, hands-on workshops and time learning alongside accomplished groomers. In 2025, while refining a poodle trim for Cashew, they worked with Groom Team Canada members Nadia Bongelli and Jovi Miru, crediting Jovi with helping them fine-tune the placement and technique.
For Sam, continuing to learn is part of the work. Each new technique is another opportunity to become an even stronger groomer.
Sam leads with patience and education
One of the clearest things about Sam's approach is how they treat dogs that need a little extra care. Whether a dog arrives matted, nervous or needing a more involved groom, their focus stays on helping the dog while giving the owner useful guidance for what comes next.
Sam has been clear about that philosophy from early on:
“please note this is not a shaming post but educational.”
That mindset carries through Russell's. Sam shares practical care advice, helps owners better understand their dog's grooming needs and keeps the conversation constructive.
It is a simple approach, but an important one: help the dog, help the owner and leave judgment out of it.
Hodu, Cashew and the personality behind Russell's
Dogs get nicknames, jokes and recurring storylines, and 'spaw day' has been part of Russell's vocabulary for years.
Hodu and Cashew have become unofficial co-workers too, spending time around client dogs, joining Sam during training and even making appearances at grooming events.
The equipment has changed and Sam has become a competition groomer, but Russell's still feels like a small family business where the dogs are known by name.
At the rescue grooming day, Sam came ready to help
That same warmth and willingness to help showed up at Karoot's rescue grooming day, organized to support 12 rescue dogs at Mattie's Place. Five groomers came together for the day, including Sam.
AD18 was there throughout the event, and Sam came prepared. They brought extra grooming tools, worked on several dogs and even brought bandanas and other cute finishing touches for the dogs after their grooms.
Sam kept the mood light, joked around and stepped in wherever they could.
When Karoot founder Tanveer told them about the event, Sam says the reason for joining was simple:
“Helping pups feel good, look good, & smell good is what we are about.”
By the end of the day, Sam had put that philosophy into practice.
A small business that still feels personal
Russell's looks very different from the early days of home grooms and freshly printed business cards. Sam now has a mobile operation, competition results, certifications, continuing education and years of client dogs behind them.
But the business still comes back to the same family idea that started in their parents’ kitchen. Martin handles the books and business side, while Sam leads the day-to-day grooming.
Sam is quick to bring the story back to the people who made that growth possible. They say the family is genuinely grateful to every client who trusts Russell's with their dog.
Sam and Martin built Russell’s around making grooming more convenient and more personal.
For clients, that means the salon comes to the driveway. For their dogs, it means one groomer, one-on-one attention and somebody who clearly still enjoys getting to know the animal on the other end of the leash.
Russell's Mobile Grooming
Serving: Hamilton, Hamilton Mountain, Binbrook, Stoney Creek, Ancaster and Dundas
Services: Baths, haircuts, nail care, ear cleaning, teeth brushing and pet-safe creative grooming
Instagram: @russellsmobilegrooming
Facebook: Russell's Mobile Grooming
Phone/Text: 289-808-6388 — text preferred
About this profile
Russell's Mobile Grooming was selected for editorial coverage by AD18 following Sam Russell's participation in Karoot's rescue grooming day supporting dogs at Mattie's Place. Russell's supplied factual information about the business and was given the opportunity to review those details for accuracy before publication. AD18 independently researched additional publicly available business material and retained editorial control over the final article.
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