Groom detaches from Skeletal Mesh when applying animation

Any Unreal groom experts? Deconstructing the Meerkat demo to better understand hair and fur in Unreal. Trying to understand why the moment I apply an animation my groom always detaches from my skeletal mesh.
The steps are straightforward

(see 3 - Attaching a Groom to a Skeletal Mesh)
And attaching my 5 steps which work until Step 5- Applying an animation asset
1 - Add skeletal mesh
2 - Add Groom component
3 - Configure Groom component
4 - Define optional Binding
5 - Apply animation asset