By Maddie Stroin
Review Special Writer
About 10 years ago, Brian Pawlowski bought his wife a Miniature Schnauzer named D.O.G..
When the puppy was about six months old, Brian’s wife, Tabatha Pawlowski, took him to be groomed at a local groomers in Grass Lake where they lived at that time.
The groomer called Tabatha 30 minutes after dropping the puppy off only to tell her that D.O.G. was acting up and could not be groomed.
Tabatha returned to the shop to find her young dog frightened.
‘I think he thought I was going to hit him,? Tabatha said.
After that, she had decided not to allow anyone else groom to her dog. She received grooming training, fell in love with the trade and decided to make pet grooming her career.
She moved to Lake Orion and could not find a job where she felt comfortable with the salon practices, so she decided to open her own shop.
The Pawlowski’s salon is located on South Lapeer Road in Lake Orion.
Mount Ruffmore Doggy Salon has been open to customers since October 7. Before opening the shop, Tabatha was previously a manager at Waggles ‘N? Whiskers in Saline for eight years. This shop was a grooming boutique owned by a friend of Tabatha named Linda Murowski.
Mount Ruffmore offers stylish pet clips and full service grooms. The salon uses a system that is safer for pets? skin and makes the dogs? coat fluffier.
With the shop’s massage-therapy bath system the dogs also receive a soothing massage while being bathed. The shop also offers medicated baths, blueberry facials, EZ Out Shed-less treatments, flea and tick treatments, de-skunking, nail trims, pedicures, teeth brushing, and nail painting.
All the equipment featured in Mount Ruffmore is completely up-to-date. The salon also uses all natural shampoos and conditioners made by EZ Groom.
The couple takes pride in their policy that pets will always be treated with respect and never mishandled. The name of their salon was derived from that mission statement. The Pawlowskis believe that dogs should always be treated presidentially.
‘What’s more presidential than Mount Rushmore?? Tabatha said.
Mount Ruffmore Doggy Salon can be found at 1120 South Lapeer Road in Lake Orion. The shop is open every day of the week except for Sundays with a range of hours. The complete list of business hours can be found online on the Yellow Pages Website. Appointments can be made by calling (248) 783-7137.