Local dog-grooming business up and running in Ainsworth

Tails are wagging across Washington County as a new dog groomer in Ainsworth is helping dogs and cats get that fresh summer look.

Jennifer Dennis opened her new business, 'Buddy Paws” in April at her home on 620 Tam Street in Ainsworth, and customers have started scratching at the door to get their pets in.

Dennis owns four dogs of her own; Cupcake, the mom, Taz, the dad, and their pups Brownie and Maple. Her four furry friends have helped her realize her love for grooming and pet care.

Dennis says she's had all sizes of dogs come barking at the bit to get in, caring for pooches as big as Australian Shepherds and as small as Shih Tzu's, all of which she tracks in a scrap book where she has pictures of all the pets she has cared for.

Dennis says prices are cheap since she runs the business from her home, and she tries to keep an open mind on what the owner wants their pet to look like when she's all done.

'I try and do what people ask me to do,” Dennis says. 'A lady wanted a teddy bear look the other day, so I did that. A lot of people like the round faces. That makes them look young, like my dogs. I make them round and cute like a teddy bear.”

Dennis has a few frequent customers that come in every few weeks, but also gets one-time appointments. She recalls one dog that came in to get cleaned up after a long stint of being away from home.

'I had one dog come in that had ran away,” she says. 'They put in the paper to find it, and they found their dog. They called me to ask if I could get it in right away so it could be groomed.”

Dennis says all the pets she has cared for have been pretty chill, and enjoyed the experience of getting their fur fluffed.

'So far the dogs I have seem pretty relaxed and calm,” she says. 'Sometimes when I'm cutting the dogs head or holding their face, they'll fall asleep. And the in the bath, you get them in a state of relaxing and it calms them down there.”

Dennis says her four dogs stay upstairs when customers scoot through the door, but that she is planning on eventually putting a gate up so they can see their owner help more pets relax, get cleaned up and walk out the door with their tails wagging.