Bath time is no fun at the Grangers' Upland home. When Mindy and her husband Don would turn on the hose to wash their 55-pound Australian shepherd mix Silas, that overgrown puppy would cower and shake.
To have him professionally groomed had cost the couple between $40 and $70 each trip.
Besides being a family pet, Silas is also a therapy dog for the Bonita Unified School District. Cleanliness for this job is a must, and this canine needs to be bathed at least twice a month.
About a year ago the Grangers discovered something that would make their lives - and the strain on their wallets - a little lighter. Not far from their Upland home is Scrubby Puppy, a self-service pet wash.
"It's a lot cheaper, and they clean up my mess," jokes Mindy. "It also gives us a chance to spend some quality time with Silas."
The Grangers' story is a familiar one to Scrubby Puppy owner Valerie Mora, who started the business in 2004.
"People enjoy spending one-on-one time with their dogs," said Mora, who lives in Riverside with her husband Tony Jardine. "But giving their dog a bath at home is hard to do and hard on your back. It's just no fun."
Mora got the idea for Scrubby Puppy after adopting a timid chow mix named Bear about seven years ago.There was no way this dog was going to trust a groomer so she took the pup to a self-serve pet wash she heard of in the Hollywood area. She was impressed with the concept, the atmosphere and her bonding time with Bear.
When it came to employment, Mora had always been restless and unsatisfied. After her bathing experience, she believed she may have found her true calling.
Five years ago, with a shoestring budget and encouragement from her husband Tony, Mora opened Scrubby Puppy.
"It was really tough for the first three years," she said. "It's still not easy, I work six days a week, 10 to 11 hours a day, but the business is finally holding its own."
In 2007 Mora expanded. She took over the vacated space next door turning it into a pet boutique/waiting area.
That same year she started offering full-service grooming.
"I couldn't stand hanging up the phone on all that money," she said. "People would call all the time asking if we offered grooming, and I'd have to say no."
Mora's perception of most grooming salons were stressed-out dogs that waited in cages for hours before and after grooming. She didn't want that.
"I would only offer grooming if I could do it by appointment, one dog at a time," she said. "It was important to me to find a groomer who felt the same way I did."
Enter experienced groomer Amanda Light. On a whim, Light called and asked if Mora was hiring.
The two spoke on the phone at length, and at the end of the conversation Mora knew she'd found her groomer. Dogs are groomed one at a time and picked up when finished. Owners are welcome to wait.
Mora has seen her business thrive, even during this recession. Some patrons are strictly self-serve, while others, especially those owning high-maintenance breeds, will alternate between services. The choice keeps pets well-groomed without straining the family budget.
Scrubby Puppy may be self-sufficient, but Mora looks forward to a time when it makes enough money for her to have a space that includes a day care, clinic and classes.
"It's my dream," she said. "But until then, I get to do what I love and have my dogs with me. When I get down, they keep me going."
Education key to curbing stray animal population
This story appeared in the Antelope Valley Press
Sunday, April 26, 2009.By CRAIG CURRIER
Valley Press Staff Writer
PALMDALE - Lisa Tipton admits she isn't going to solve the Antelope Valley's ever-present problem with stray animals, but she, like many others, is out to slow it down at least.
An animal lover with more than 11 years experience as a rescuer as well as in spay and neuter programs, Tipton opened her Angel Dogs Foundation in August 2008.
She recently took to the streets in a 31-foot-long mobile veterinary clinic, which she wheels out every morning, parking at various locations with the hope she can not only serve the public, but educate people as well.
"We're not going to rescue our way out of this mess," Tipton said. "We're not going to adopt our way out of this mess. The more accessible we make spay/neuter, the better."
The problem Tipton talks about is a population of stray animals that has swelled in the Antelope Valley over the past few years.
The problem is so severe that animal enthusiasts are uniting to find a fix.
Tracy Fish, who moved to west Palmdale six months ago with her five pets, approached Tipton's clinic on wheels this past week with plenty of stories. All but one of Fish's pets are ones she rescued from the wild. Since coming up from the San Fernando Valley, Fish has absorbed two more strays.
"I can't walk my dogs because there's so many strays," said Fish, the owner of four dogs and three cats. "We would find cats in the (San Fernando) Valley because people's animals do get out. But nothing like here."
Fish spotted Tipton's truck in the PETCO parking lot on 10th Street West and Rancho Vista Boulevard. She wants to attack the growing problem from the start by having her pets' reproductive organs removed humanely.
Tipton said it's a common assumption that everybody knows about the spaying and neutering procedure, but that's not always the case.
"Some people just have never heard of removing reproductive organs of animals," she said. "Ideally, we'd like to be in the worst neighborhoods."
That's why Tipton decided the clinic on wheels concept would work best for her organization. Inside the truck is a 26-foot-long veterinary clinic divided into two rooms - one for surgery prep and another for the surgery.
At least three veterinary technicians work in the clinic during operations. Two help anesthetize the animals and another assists the veterinarian in performing the surgeries.
Dr. Long Tran of Irvine is among the veterinarians who work for Angel Dogs, conducting procedures that number in double digits almost every day. The work, he said, is intensive, but that doesn't affect the outcome.
"The quality is the same," Tran said. "People say a portable (facility) means low quality, but the material we use is the best. The complication rate is very low."
The vets and technicians of Angel Dogs, which first rolled out to the public on April 1, can complete more than 30 surgeries each day, he said.
At present, Tipton's nonprofit organization daily is performing surgeries about one-third of that number, which is frustrating on two levels.
Not only is she having trouble breaking even financially, but she feels helpless about her effort to curb animal overpopulation.
Tipton is working seven days a week, driving from her Santa Clarita home to work long hours outside and inside the truck.
From Sunday to Tuesday the truck is parked outside PETCO, but Tipton's crew goes out to Sorenson Park in Lake Los Angeles on Wednesday and spends Thursday and Friday at Charlie Brown Farms in Littlerock.
She's still looking for a permanent Saturday location and is always exploring options that would gain more exposure.
Tipton is the only paid member of the organization's five board members, but she also must cover the cost of diesel fuel burned in running the truck all day. There's also insurance costs and the employees to pay, she notes.
Tipton maintains that her charge of $110 for dogs and $90 for cats is cheaper than many other clinics, but said she needs more business to keep the organization afloat.
"Every day that we're out here we have a certain cost on our overhead," she said. "Our vets are specialized spay/neuter vets; they aren't cheap.
"Our costs are the same whether we have 30 patients or five."
On the day an Antelope Valley Press reporter visited, a steady stream of people like Fish walked up with questions, but Tipton says she still has the challenge of educating people about spay/neuter and convincing them to have the operation done in a oversized truck.
"I love working in (the truck)," said veterinarian technician Karen Doane, who lives in Frazier Park and works for Angel Dogs about four times a week. "At first it was a little disorganized, but now we've got it down."
Tipton maintains that she's dedicated to the cause and says she's searching for new ways to defray the cost for spaying and neutering.
"I wish we were free," Tipton said. "I wish we were $20 or $40, but I can only do as much as funding allows me.
"We want to be a part of this community; it's the only way that things will change."
Effective 2/28/09,all self-service washeswill havea price increase of $1.
We hate to do it, but we are simply unable to absorb the never-ending rising costs of supplies and other costs of running the business. We hope you understand our need to do this, and we sincerely appreciate your business.
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