Some pampering for your pet
Classy Canine Pet Grooming booming in New Minas
It’s Sunday morning in
New Minas, and the parking lot at Classy Canine Pet Grooming resembles Noah’s Ark.
It’s nail trimming day, and people are waiting with their dogs and cats, but also with rabbits, guinea pigs and the occasional bird.
“Once in a while we’ll see a Syrian hamster,” says Classy Canine owner Mya Dubeau. “For those guys I’ll get out the tiny file, because their nails are sharp.”
Nail trimming day is the first and third Sunday of each month. On this day customers can bring in their pets without an appointment, between 9 a.m. and noon, for a $10 nail trim.
Regular nail trimming is especially important for dogs, Dubeau explains.
“If their nails are resting on the floor it makes it harder for them to get a grip,” she points out. “The nails shouldn’t be making contact with the floor when the dog is standing or walking – they should only make contact when the dog is running. It also saves your hardwood floors if the nails are trimmed.”
As the name would suggest, the bulk of the services at Classy Canine is dog grooming, but once a week the shop also does cat grooming. Dogs will be bathed – with external glands expressed and ears cleaned – shampooed, dried and groomed. Cats receive nail and hair service.
“For dog grooming, I’m at full capacity,” Dubeau explains. “But I’m still taking on cat clientele.”
Grooming is done by appointment only. The air conditioned, spa-type atmosphere is designed to relax the animals and reduce stress, and pets enjoy a play time before the grooming process begins.
“We make the animals feel as comfortable as possible,” she says. “I have as many beds as I can fit in here, so they get to relax and feel at ease between grooming stations. It is definitely not an assembly line process.”
Dubeau purchased the New Minas business, which had existed for at least a decade previously, in 2014.
“I kept the name, except I changed ‘dog’ to ‘pet’ because we branched out to serve other animals, and we added a cat to the signage.”
Dubeau has been a pet owner pretty much all her life. There was no shortage of animals around the house while she was growing up in Beaver Bank.
“We had dogs, hamsters, ferrets and rabbits,” she recalls. “I had a horse for several years.”
One of her first jobs as a teenager was bathing, grooming and trimming pets at a shop in Bedford. While working in the tourism sector in Nunavut people learned she had experience in pet grooming, and it became a sideline for her in Canada’s north.
Every animal has its own personality, Dubeau says. She finds it satisfying to see pets that were initially nervous and resistant to the grooming process become relaxed and comfortable as time goes on.
“It’s very rewarding,” she says. “I love to play and relax with the animals when I get a chance at the end of the day.”