Where a pedigree merits a pedicure

[Times photo: Jim Damaske] Anne Crain holds Dolly, a cocker spaniel she just sheared Tuesday at her Seminole business. At left is her dog Lassie.

By CHRISTINA K. COSDON

© St. Petersburg Times, published August 16, 2000

SEMINOLE -- Getting ready to take that bichon frise on the show circuit? Anne Crain, who just opened Anne's Grooming, has a decade of experience cutting and styling the hair of pampered competition dogs.

Her customers also include cats, but most are dogs that need baths, toenail trims, ear cleaning and lots of cutting and brushing.

After going to dog grooming school in Detroit and working for other people, Ms. Crain, 42, recently decided it was time to work for herself. She moved here eight years ago from Key West, where she worked a number of years in the restaurant business, and bought a home in Redington Beach.

"I was visiting a friend and fell in love with the area," she said of her decision to settle in Pinellas. Opening the business July 12 at 13144 Park Blvd., Suite G, took an investment of $6,000, she said. She bought new equipment, put in new flooring and built crates and a partition that prevents any of her four-legged customers from charging out the front door.

Not all dogs like to be closed up in crates, she said, and those that don't are allowed to roam free in the area behind the partition.

"I try to make this a good experience for them," she said. "If they have a bad time, they won't want to walk through the door again."

Prices start at $15 to $20 for baths for small dogs to $23 for full grooming, including trims. Hours are 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Call 395-0074.

Hairstylist raises money for Hospice

Wendy Nofil, owner/operator of Wendy's Hair Perfection, 10525 Park Blvd., raised $1,500 for Hospice of the Florida Suncoast July 15 and 16.

Customers paid $19.95 for a make-over and fashion portrait. Ten dollars of each make-over fee went to Hospice.

Ms. Nofil said she had the first fundraiser last year in memory of a longtime friend Bobby Benedetto, who died two years ago of pancreatic cancer and was cared for by Hospice. Last year's project raised $1,236, she said. "He had no insurance and they were wonderful to him," she said.

"This is part of my effort to repay Hospice for all the loving care that was given him."

A native of Fort Lauderdale, Ms. Nofil has lived 15 years in Pinellas County, the last five in Seminole.

"We are fortunate to have such heartfelt support from the business community," said Mike Bell, vice president of development and community relations for Hospice of the Florida Suncoast.

Collection center accepts plastic packing material

PostNet business and communication center, owned and operated by George Wright in Seminole Mall, is now a designated collection center for the Plastic Loose Fill Council.

That means that any type of plastic packing material, like peanuts and chips, can be dropped at the center rather than sent off to the landfill. The council will recycle the products.

Call PostNet at 394-9252.

New agent joins Century 21 Grant Realty

Doren Costello is the newest sales associate at Century 21 Grant Realty, 6450 Seminole Blvd. She moved to Seminole last year from Rhode Island and had worked several years in property management. She graduated from the University of Massachusetts in Boston with a degree in marketing.

- Know of a new or unique business in the greater Seminole area? If so, tell us about it. Send items to Seminole Business, Seminole Times, 710 Court St., Clearwater, FL 33756 or fax it to 445-4119. We also are interested in promotions, expansions and major new contracts. Photos can be sent, but not all will be used and they cannot be returned.

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