By Charles Warner
The Union Daily Times, S.C.
WWR Article Summary (tl;dr) Stacy Fleming started her dog grooming business from home while still in school. Now that she has graduated, Fleming has officially opened “Shampooches Grooming Salon” in a Jonesville S.C. building she purchased. She has been working on the new space day and night and hosted a formal opening Saturday with a ribbon-cutting for both two-legged and four-legged guests.
JONESVILLE
The newest business to open in the Town of Jonesville is a “labor of love” by the owner who says she’s doing it because she loves dogs.
“Shampooches Grooming Salon” had its formal opening Saturday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, open house, and luncheon attended by both two-legged and four-legged guests.
The salon is owned and operated by Stacy Fleming who, like so many entrepreneurs, started her business in her home, a business she said she started while still in school.
“I attended Groomadog Academy from December to March to become a certified groomer,” Fleming said following Saturday’s ribbon-cutting. “I started my business in the garage of my home before graduation.”
While her garage was where she started her business, Fleming was already looking for a more permanent location and found it in the old Jonesville Town Hall at 149 Pacolet Street in downtown Jonesville.
“We purchased the building in mid-March and have been working on it day and night since then,” Fleming said. ‘It’s a labor of love because grooming is something I’ve always wanted to do and I love dogs. I have four of my own.”
The result of all that work was on display during the open house that followed the ribbon-cutting ceremony giving guests an opportunity to see the renovated and refurbished facility that includes the grooming room where Fleming, with the assistance of her mother, Sara Fowler, and, on occasion, her daughter, Jenna, will groom the dogs entrusted to the care of Shampooches.
“We will clean their ears, clip their nails, express their anal glands as needed, bathe them, and give them a haircut,” Fleming said. “Each dog will leave with cologne and a bow or bandana.”
The services Shampooches will provide are those that Fleming said dog owners are often reluctant and/or unable to provide for their dogs themselves.
“I’ve noticed a lot of people are scared to do their dog’s nails because they’re afraid they’ll get them too short,” Fleming said. “Expressing anal glands is medically necessary and nobody wants to do that at home, it’s a messy job.”
Fleming said that in addition to assisting their owners in the care of their dogs, the grooming services she provides are also beneficial to the animals themselves.
“It’s good to give them a bath and little bit of pampering,” Fleming said. “They are just like us, we always feel better after a bath.”
Fleming said she loves grooming dogs and making them feel better in the process.
“There’s nothing I love more than to clean up a dog who is really dirty and matted,” Fleming said. “They feel better and I feel better about helping them.”
Shampooches is open Tuesday-Friday from 9 a.m.-6 p.m., but Fleming said dog owners who need to drop their dogs off earlier those days can call her and she will be there at the time they need to drop them off.
While Shampooches does not offer them at the present time, Fleming said that she plans in the near future to offer daycare and boarding services for dog owners who need to leave their dogs during the day or overnight.
For more information about Shampooches and/or to make an appointment for your dog call 864-673-9057 or 864-426-2333.
