Mario DiFante

Mario DiFante’s history in the pet industry spans over 30 years. He started as the owner of Four Paws Salon in Providence RI. This establishment was voted top salon/boutique in the US for the Millennium by a national trade publication. His salon/boutique has appeared on book and magazine covers, articles, and has been the subject of lectures across the US and internationally. A renowned international lecturer, Mario well versed in all Pet Industry subjects, ideas, and concepts.

As a former grooming competitor, he has been invited to compete in numerous international grooming invitational competitions. His past wins include multiple “Best in Show” and “Best All-Around Groomer”, and the title of World Scissoring champion. He has bred, groomed, handled and owned many AKC champions over the past 30 years, including Westminster Best of Breed winning Portuguese Water Dogs (ranking top 5 in the US), as well as specialty-winning Bichons.

He has judged at all major US competitions, as well as in Canada, South America, Japan, and Europe in all classes, including Best in Show judge five times for Intergroom. Mario has mentored new and upcoming judges and is a two-time nominee for judge of the year from the Cardinal Crystal Grooming Achievement Awards. He has also performed seminars and instructional classes for advanced grooming/scissoring techniques to thousands of groomers across the US, Canada, and Europe. Mario also serves on the advisory board for Grooming Business magazine.

Mario is a professor for the Master Class series at New York City’s Fashion Institute of Technology newest program, “Pet Product Design and Marketing Professional-Development”
program. Mario is founder and executive director of Pet
Fashion Week NY, the world’s only high-end pet lifestyle tradeshow and design platform, produced annually in NYC, Tokyo, Japan, and Sao Paulo, Brazil.