A Moorseboro native has returned to her hometown and brought her own business with her.
In April, Liza Jones opened Dirty Paws Pet Salon, 1016 Steel Bridge Road, Mooresboro. The business promises individual grooming services for dogs of all sizes and breeds. Services offered at the salon include nail trimming, bathing, flea dips, de-shedding treatments and hair cuts.
The salon sits in a small storage building which has been refitted with electricity and plumbing. A large tub used for baths is welded in place in one corner of the salon, and a grooming station built from the remains of a barber’s chair is nearby.
All of the work is done by Jones, who has been working with animals since she was young and grooming pets for much of her life. By doing all of the work herself, Jones said she is able to guarantee consistent results for her customers and reduce stress on the animals with which she works.
“In some bigger places you might have three or four people working on dogs at one time. Here I work on one dog at a time, and it’s one-on-one, me and the dog,” said Jones.
On average, appointments take between 90 minutes and two hours, depending on the size of the dog and services needed.
“A lot of people will drop their dogs off and go run their errands while I work with them. I call (the owners) when I’m done so they can come pick up their dog,” Jones said.
All of the products used in the shop are all-natural, Jones said, to avoid any possible allergy issues for animals.
The new salon is Jones’ second attempt at operating a pet grooming business. In 2007 she opened a grooming business in South Carolina, but Jones said she was forced to close when her land and building were sold to the state for a highway widening project.
Jones said she always planned to reopen the business elsewhere, but it took her a few years to find a place to put it. Now that it’s open again, she’s excited to be back in business.
“You know if you love what you do it’s never really work,” she said. “I do love this. I love working with animals.”
Already, the business is attracting regular customers.
“She’s wonderful,” said Danny Powell, who has appointments for his dog Carley every three weeks. “She’s just nice and polite to the dog, and the dog loves her.”
Denise Harris, another regular customer with an 8-year-old Yorkie mix named Benji, agreed. “She’s really good and she’s fair priced too,” she said.
As of Monday, Jones said she still has space for more small and medium sized dogs.
Appointments can be made by calling 704-473-1518 or messaging the salon’s Facebook page, facebook.com/Dirtypawspetsalon1
