Each time Jessica Brooks gets a new customer, the Arbutus dog groomer's family expands.

According to Brooks, her canine clients become her own for the duration of each trimming, shampooing and facial scrubbing session.

"While you're here with me, you're my dog for those next few hours," said Brooks, who lives in Violetville. "Dogs should be treated as family should be treated."

It's this personalized service that Brooks wanted to bring to Arbutus residents when she opened Woof! Pet Grooming and Salon at 906 Leeds Ave.

The salon has gained 91 clients since it opened Oct. 7.

She said Arbutus seemed like the prime spot for a mom 'n' pop pet salon.

"I noticed there were a lot of pets and a lot of pet owners, but not a lot of pet stores," she said.

The Arbutus Poodle Salon at 5312 East Dr. and Petco at 3591 Washington Blvd. are the only other pet grooming services in the area, Brooks said.

She said large corporations like Petco often do not offer the same kind of individual attention as smaller grooming businesses.

"There are definitely some problems with corporate grooming places," said Brooks, who worked at Petco after getting her grooming certificate in 2007.

"It's always their way or no way," she said.

Depending on the dog's breed and size, Brooks charges from $25-$45 for bathing session, and $45-$85 for grooming.

Brooks said cats are also welcome at the salon.

Brooks said if a new client provides an invoice for a cheaper grooming session elsewhere, she will drop her price to match it.

Liz Kardos, a groomer at the salon who met Brooks when both worked at Petco, said working at a smaller place allows for more playtime with the animals.

"After we're done, we usually let them run around the salon until their moms get there," said Kardos, who lives in Baltimore. "Working at Petco, we had to put the dogs right back into the kennels until they were picked up."

Diane Wilbourne, a Pasadena resident, said she and her husband, Jim, have taken their three Shih Tzus to Brooks since they had their first appointment with her at Petco.

When Brooks began working at Doggie Style salon at 1130 Light St., Wilbourne followed her into the city.

She now brings JJ, DD and Snickers to Arbutus.

Wilbourne said Brooks is, "the person you'd want to take care of your animals.

"We treat or dogs like they're our children, and she treats them the same way," Wilbourne said. "She has a good way with them. You can tell she's truly concerned about the animals."

Brooks said she has a dry-erase board in the salon, and when a pet has an appointment, she writes its name on the board so it can be "welcomed right away."

Each new customer also receives a thank-you card after the first appointment.

Brooks said she is trying to spread the word about her salon with flyers, business cards and treat bags that she hands out at local dog parks.

Wilbourne said the 10 percent off coupons Brooks handed out are especially helpful in the current economic climate.

She said she has to take her long-haired dogs in about every three months.

"It's tough in this economy, but you need to get it done," she said. "Their hair just keeps growing and growing."

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user comments (1)

user cbeucke says...

Jessica is awesome!! we took shih-tzu to Jessica at DoggieStyle for his regular haircuts and have followed her to Woof. She truly does treat him like he is a child. Its such a better feeling to leave him with her than to leave him with the people at Petco. We are so happy to have found her! Her haircuts come out super-cute too. :)

Posted 4:30 PM, 12.18.09

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