Pets Helping People

Our Mission

Pets Helping People provides training for women with criminal backgrounds and prepares them for careers in the pet care industry.

About the Organization

Pets Helping People (PHP) works with female felons who are either in transition from prison or are in drug court and avoiding prison. We provide training to prepare them for a career in the pet grooming industry.


The Pets Helping People Program provides a path for re-entry into society for anyone desiring to work hard and to be self-sustaining. The growing dog grooming industry offers a solid career path for individuals with felonies and criminal backgrounds. Each class rotation consists of 4-6 trainees working and studying for 40 hours per week for four months. Our organization is recognized as having completed the Standards for Excellence course by the Oklahoma Center for Nonprofits. Our certification is valid from 2025-2030, and we can be found on the Oklahoma Center for Nonprofits graduate page.


Pets Helping People (PHP) is a 501(c)(3) charitable entity, Federal ID #80-0407977.


Three women in scrubs are posing for a picture while sitting at a desk.

390

Trainees Enrolled

805

Rescue Dogs Cared for Annually

4,351

Hours Volunteered in 2024

95%

Graduate Job Placement

A group of people are grooming dogs in a dog grooming salon.

Muddy Paws Dog Grooming

Pets Helping People owns and operates Muddy Paws Dog Grooming as its training facility. Program participants with a criminal past are trained and equipped to work as bathers or groomers upon graduation.

The training provided to each trainee has been valued at up to $11,000 and is available at no charge to participants once they are accepted into the program. Upon completion of the program, graduates are prepared for employment, earning $16 to $25 per hour. To date, Pets Helping People has successfully placed all program graduates in employment with area grooming shops at no cost to the graduates.

About the Program

As of January 2025

Pets Helping People started in September 2009 as a not-for-profit organization and opened Muddy Paws as the training facility in February 2010.

Since 2010, PHP has enrolled 390 trainees. 338 trainees have graduated, 12 of these trainees will graduate in 2025; 40 have failed to complete.

PHP has a 0% recidivism rate — well below the 16.1% state average for female offenders and an overall 3% rate since the program's inception.

PHP successfully places 95% of graduates in jobs in the pet industry and provides a well-trained new employee pool for 83 grooming shops in 41 cities across the state of Oklahoma. 36 graduates own their own shops.

After six months experience, Northeast Oklahoma grooming retailers employ PHP graduates as:

  1. Groomer: $16 – $25/hr
  2. Bather/Brusher: $16 – $18/hr 

In 2024, trainees groomed and cared for over 805 rescued dogs as part of PHP instruction. Since 2011, PHP trainees have prepared 15,149 dogs for adoption after being rescued by Tulsa area rescue organizations.

The Tulsa community solidly endorses PHP each year. In 2024, volunteers donated over 4,351 hours to Pets Helping People and Muddy Paws.

PHP covers 100% of training costs, estimated at $11,000, including instruction, training materials, equipment, transportation and uniforms, for each trainee through private donations, grant funds, our annual fundraiser and pet care services from Muddy Paws.

PHP supports the Tulsa community by offering more than $4,000 worth of grooming services at no or reduced cost every month.