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Salon gives option of self-serve, full service
By PIPER JONES CASTILLO
© St. Petersburg Times, SEMINOLE -- Linda Miles prepared the nine color-coded leashes for the exodus. "Okay, everybody, it's time to go," she said, untangling a sheltie's blue leash from a Yorkie's green. With the visit to Ultimate Pet Care Salon complete, Toby, Dusty, Carly, Sandy, Silver, Stoney, Charley, Raffles and Mindy strolled to their owner's conversion van for the ride home. Ultimate Pet Care Salon, a self-service pet salon at 6989 Seminole Blvd., opened six weeks ago, giving pet owners like Miles an opportunity to scrub down their animals at a facility tailor-made for the chore. "I'll never hurt my knees leaning against my tub again," Miles said. Jennifer Hoffer, the owner of the new business, is banking on customers like Miles. "It's just easier for people to come here to a place set up for pet washing than for them to do it at home. But actually, Linda has got the most dogs that I've seen yet," Hoffer said, as she led her next customers, Jan DeGraw-Higgins and Bear, a 13-year-old Pomeranian, to a grooming stall. Hoffer, who received a veterinarian technician degree from St. Petersburg Junior College (now St. Petersburg College) in 1994, decided to open Ultimate Pet Care after watching her mother operate a successful coin laundry in Largo. "I've seen people use self-service facilities, and since I love working with animals, it just all come together," said Hoffer, 29. Last summer, she began renovating the 800-square-foot storefront, a former card shop. She installed two porcelain bathtubs, elevated to 3 feet off the ground and equipped with handheld shower nozzles. She added drying areas equipped with doggie hair dryers ($300 contraptions that look more like vacuum cleaners). She also converted the front entrance to a pet waiting room. Her overall investment will total $7,000. Hoffer also offers dropoff, full-service grooming. "During these first few weeks of operation, most of my business has come from dropoffs, in which I do the grooming instead of the owner," said Hoffer, who spent five years as a groomer at Fluff and Scissors in the Countryside area. "But I know that the self-service wash is a new concept for Seminole, and I'm expecting the self-wash end will keep getting busier the more people hear about it." As she fluffed and dried Bear, DeGraw-Higgins nodded in agreement. "I think once this place catches on, people will see how easy washing a pet here is. This is close to the doggie park at Bicentennial Park in Madeira Beach. Dogs can play there, and on the way home, the owners can stop and wash, and get it all done," DeGraw-Higgins said. The cost for the self-wash is $10 for 30 minutes and $2 for each additional five minutes. For dropoff groomings, the price depends on the breed and the work involved. The business is open Tuesday through Saturday.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
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From the Times South Pinellas desks |
