IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: A version of this article was originally published by ThoroldToday on May 19.
Thorold pooches have a new place to get preened, as local resident Jessie Smith recently opened WAGZ Grooming Studio on Keefer Rd. in Confederation Heights.
“It’s a great location,” says Smith, in an interview with ThoroldToday. “There’s a million dogs in this neighbourhood, it’s a community. That’s new and I like that feeling.”
Smith has been a dog groomer for over 18 years and she says she has always had a special relationship with dogs.
“I used to pretend to be a dog when I was a child,” she says. “I literally feel like I can speak to dogs. I know their body language. I have such good communication with my dog at home because I know what he’s thinking. It helps here once I get to know the dogs.”
In 2018, Smith opened up a dog grooming salon in the north end of St. Catharines, that also doubled as the first ever indoor dog park in Niagara.
But then the pandemic happened and the salon was forced to close down.
“I put my heart and soul into that business — all of my savings, all of my money,” Smith says. “It was awful. I lost everything. But you got to just move on. No sense in dwelling on it.”
Smith went back to working at another grooming studio, but the dream of owning her own place always stayed in the back of her mind.
“I live in Confed so I kept driving by and seeing this space for lease,” she says. “I inquired and the space was good for me and the rent was decent so I figured it’s time to jump at it again. This is definitely smaller scale but it’s perfect.”
Throughout her career, Smith has built a loyal customer base who have followed her wherever she goes.
“I’ve built amazing relationships with my customers,” she says. “We’ve become part of their family, they trust us. They expect me to put their dog before anything.”
It’s those long-lasting relationships that are the cornerstone of Smith’s business.
“When the dogs come in regularly we get to know the dogs so it’s often where groomers get to discover new lumps and bumps,” Smith says. “We discover a lot of things on dogs. We’re building that relationship with them and we’re really learning about the dog.”
The grooming studio has only been open for a month but business is already booming.
To keep up with demand, Smith hopes to hire more groomers in the future.
“I want to have the salon that people talk about and it’s all positive and people are referring other people,” she says. “I just want to have the best grooming salon.”