A UTTOXETER mum has turned a lifelong passion into a business by transforming dirty dogs in to pampered pooches.
Dee Beveridge set up dog grooming business Dirty Dogs at her home, in St Catherine’s Close, off Derby Street, earlier this year and has been inundated with dogs as word of mouth spread.
The mum-of-two aims to provide an unrivalled grooming service for all types and sizes of dog in and around Uttoxeter.
It was her love of animals, which saw her and her family keep chihuahuas (which she also now breeds), a cat, two tortoises and a stick insect, that pushed her to embark on her new career.
After her two children moved on to middle school and she was afforded more time, Mrs Beveridge decided to train to be a dog groomer and with support from her husband Stuart and his business Strategic Business Sales got the business up and running in January.
Mrs Beveridge told the Advertiser how her first six months in business has gone and what Dirty Dogs offers its customers.
She said: “It is going really well and I’m flat out busy. We have dogs flying in and out, all kinds and all shapes and sizes.
“I offer full head to paw treatment — whatever the customer wants for the dog, I try to accommodate.
I try to offer a different service to other dog groomers in the area and offer a drop-off service for locals around their different time commitments.
“I’m really enjoying it. We have some dogs that come regularly so it can be quite like a normal hairdressers but some come who may not have been groomed for a long time or come from a bad situation and may need some extra care. Each dog is very, very different.” Mrs Beveridge, who has lived in Uttoxeter with her family for the past six years, also said that although the work can be tough it is a very rewarding job.
“It is hard, heavy work and I can get quite tired”, she said. “But it is very rewarding.
“When I see the finished product, especially when I see a dog in a real need of a big sort out, it is great. And particularly when the owners are really pleased with what we’ve done it’s all worth it.” In the future, Dirty Dogs may look to expand and recruit more staff and may also soon become a family business.
Mrs Beveridge said: “I’m going to branch into the beauty side as well with extra spa treatments so the dogs can have their nails polished, glitter, hair dye etc.
“Eventually it if does continue to get busier I would like to expand the studio and maybe take someone on to help, either a trained groomer or someone just to help out.
“I have two children both at Oldfields Middle School and my daughter is coming up to 14 and she wants to be a vet. As soon as she is 16 we are going to get her on a course to be a qualified dog groomer as she already helps out on the weekend.” Anyone who would like to find out more about Dirty Dogs or get their dog booked in can visit www.dirty-dogs.co.uk, email info@dirtydogs.
co.uk or call 01889 564272 or 07949 091196.
