Makailyn Detillion
Makailyn Detillion owns and operates Best Paw Forward, a dog grooming salon in Shelby. About two years ago, Detillion became a dog bather at Petsmart. “There, my love for the art grew and I decided to become a professional, certified groomer,” Detillion said. She attended a training academy for a few weeks and continued working for Petsmart while she became fully trained and certified. After about a year of working there, Detillion left to open her own business in her home.
Although she has lived in Shelby her whole life, Detillion and her fiancè Aaron recently moved into their apartment in downtown Shelby. “My fur baby, Nalla, absolutely loves the ‘spoiled only child life!’ She is an almost one year old Belgian Malinois/siberian Husky mix. Despite her sassy attitude, she makes a great model dog to test any new grooming skills on,” she said lovingly about her pup.
Detillion said that coming from working at a franchise grooming salon, she has made it a point in her business to take in all of the types of dogs that they turn down. She said, “Some pups just have a hard time trusting groomers which leads to behavioral problems in the salon.” Normally, any dogs that have health issues, potentially aggressive qualities, or are stress sensitive are turned away. “I love taking in those fur babies and pampering them just as much as any other. Trust is key and I find that my slow paced, one dog at a time rule, extremely lessens the stress for the dogs in the salon,” Detillion said.
She mentioned that she {span}loves having her small business in Shelby because it is her hometown and where all of her family and friends are from. She loves getting to share her practice with everyone that is important to her. “Shelby is also such a close knit community that I feel as if everyone I meet knows of a client I already have. This makes it super easy to be personable with all of my clients, new and existing. There are always connections everywhere,” Detillion said.
To book an appointment at Best Paw Forward, it is easiest to contact the Facebook page with the same name. Detillion’s business page is public to everyone. She mentioned also being able to book over the phone or through a text message at (419) 908-5257. She is grooming from 9:00AM to 7:00PM Monday through Saturday and has specials for new clients and Valentine’s Day!