A Business Where Satisfied Customers Wag Their Tails

By Jan Howard

Do you enjoy washing your dog, or prefer to, but hate the mess and the clean-up? If so, Tail Waggers, located in Dolan Plaza, 211 Greenwood Avenue, Bethel, is the place for you.

Tail Waggers is the only dog grooming facility in the area that has the facilities for owners to bathe their own dogs, according to Kathy Taylor of Ridgefield and George Spatta of Brookfield, who have owned the business since September 1997.

They met in 1992. Mr Spatta retired from AT&T in December 1989, and Ms Taylor had been a car salesman for 15 years.

Their decision to open a business catering to dog owners came about as a result of a mutual love for Golden Retrievers. “I bought a Golden, and Kathy loved him so much, she got one,” Mr Spatta said.

After looking for a dog-grooming establishment for their dogs, Ms Taylor and Mr Spatta came up with the idea to start a business themselves.

“I thought I’d like to try to have a nice place for people to feel comfortable leaving their pets,” Mr Spatta said. He and Ms Taylor visited several grooming establishments, gleaning from them their strong points to incorporate into their business.

“We even visited some in Massachusetts,” Ms Taylor said.

  Tail Waggers is their first experience in running a business of their own. Ms Taylor said she attended seminars on small businesses and dog shows to learn the different breeds. “I did a lot of reading,” she said.

“We’re pretty happy how it turned out,” Mr Spatta said. “We had no previous experience, and the fact we’re still here means there’s some success here, against the odds.”

The shop is open from Tuesday to Saturday from 7:30 am to 5:30 pm. It offers do-it-yourself dog bathing, grooming, and retail sales.

It is a bright, airy store, with glass windows separating the retail part of the store from the bathing and grooming area. One wall of the store is lined with photographs of their customers’ dogs.

Dog owners desiring to wash their own dogs do not need appointments, but can go in any time up to 4 pm to allow time for the bath, they said. The cost depends on the size of the dog, small, medium, or large, or $10, $15, or $17.

Everything is supplied, Ms Taylor said. “All they have to bring is their dog.”

One Saturday in December, 41 people brought in their dogs for baths, Ms Taylor said.

“It really tested our ability to handle it,” Mr Spatta said. “It really happened very smoothly.”

“The dogs are the easiest part,” Ms Taylor said. “They’re wonderful.”

The shop also offers professional dog grooming by appointment. This can include hydro-surge massage therapy, which cleans the dog’s fur deeper. “It’s very relaxing for the dogs,” Ms Taylor said.

They also offer specialty shampoos and are careful about perfumes, because some dogs are allergic, she said.

The cost for grooming varies according to the breed.

The shop’s retail area caters mostly to dog owners, though they do offer a few items for cats. Mr Spatta and Ms Taylor said their merchandize is competitively priced with that of larger pet supply stores.

“We gave it a lot of thought in setting it up,” Mr Spatta said. “It’s not more expensive than other places.”

“We offer a lot of unique items you might not find elsewhere,” Ms Taylor said, such as birthday cupcakes for dogs and life vests for dogs that go out on boats with their owners.

 “We also have lots of natural foods and treats,” she said. “We buy a small amount at a time so it is always fresh.

 “There are some wonderful companies we deal with,” she said.

Among other items they offer are toys, dog dishes made exclusively for them, Sophie cards that feature a Golden Retriever, grooming supplies, animal related knick-knacks, books about dogs, beds, collars and leads, and “tee-shirts for the pets’ parents,” Ms Taylor said.

“It’s a fun place,” she said. “The Saturday dog washing people are getting to know each other.”

“What’s the best thing about washing dogs here is you can leave the mess with us,” Mr Spatta said.

The shop has a powerful dryer, water pressure is good, and tubs are high off the floor to make it easier to wash a dog, he noted.

Ms Taylor and Mr Spatta are always looking for new items for the shop. “We go to trade shows, looking for new equipment,” Ms Taylor said.

They recently installed new dryers, and, she said,  “The dogs love them.”

For information or for grooming costs, call Tail Waggers at 203/744-0222.-