New boutique 'pampers' pups of all kinds

MOSES LAKE - Heather Maddox may be young, but she knows her way around a Yorkshire Terrier.

In one hand, the 22-year-old delicately holds the pint-sized puppy, while her other hand deftly works a pair of shears, snipping here and there with the finesse of someone who's done this more than a few times.

And she has, going on seven years now.

Maddox, who last week opened Pampered Pet Boutique in Moses Lake, started trimming pets when she was just 15 years old, and has been in the business ever since.

"I was one of those pesky kids who happened to live down the road from Patty's Pet Boutique," she said, referring to another Moses Lake dog grooming service. "I used to go down there and tell her how much I loved dogs and that I really wanted to work there. I was down there every day bugging her until, finally, she agreed to give me a job."

Maddox said at first she was hired to walk dogs and clean up kennels until - after a bit more persistence - she was given the chance to do some grooming and picked it up quickly.

"She took me on and I turned out to be pretty good," Maddox said. Although she eventually moved on to work for a different grooming business, several of her customers have stayed with her over the years. "I'm still grooming some of the same dogs I've been grooming since I was 15."

Recently, Maddox took some business classes through Moses Lake's Prosperity Center - a non-profit organization that offers college-level educational opportunities. The center coached her throughout the process of creating a business plan and getting loans to open her own dog grooming service, and will continue to offer her guidance over the next few years.

"I wasn't planning on starting for another year or two because I'm so young, but then everything pretty much fell into place," Maddox said.

The loans were quickly approved and, the day after she graduated from her class, she found the perfect building - a former hair academy at 2105 West Main Street - which met all her lighting and plumbing needs without much renovation.

"I just felt like it was meant to be," she said.

The large building also lends itself to Maddox's eventual plan to create a pet salon/"doggy hotel" that is "elegant, warming and friendly," with high quality products and a comfy waiting area for pet owners - not unlike that of a human boutique.

"People can hang out here or drop their pet off," she said. "Our motto is, 'your pet's new home away from home.'"

Pampered Pet Boutique is located at 2105 West Main Street, just off West Broadway and directly across from A to Z Rentals. Walk ins are welcome, but to make an appointment or for more information call 509-765-2994.