Cornell pet spa open and ready to serve furry friends
Paw Prints Pet Spa has helped Tara Thomas pursue her passion for working with animals.
The business opened on Cornell’s Main Street March 1, and offers a full-groom, which includes a haircut, bath, ear cleaning and nail trimming. The pet spa also offers deshedding treatments, baths, nail care and cat grooming.
“I’ve been grooming at home for a while,” said Thomas, adding that opening a business with a storefront has been on her and her husband, James’, minds for a while.
Thomas says the building on Main Street is a perfect fit, since it already had the salon hair tubs installed.
“It just fit in perfect with being able to put the wash tub in,” said Thomas.
She says the process of getting the business ready to open has been a long one, starting in November. Thomas says they redid the floor and trim, painted and are finishing up the wash tub area.
She says she has always loved animals and she wanted to become a vet when she was a kid, until she realized that involved giving animals shots.
“I couldn’t do it,” said Thomas. “Because that would involve hurting animals.”
By 2016, Thomas says she started grooming for family and some friends. She grew up on a farm, so she had experience grooming their own dogs and cows.
“I would love to get into rabbits, and ferrets and hamsters,” said Thomas, adding she offers hamster nail care now.
Before she expands her services to more animals, Thomas says she would first like to take classes to become more familiar and comfortable working with those critters, as she has not spent as much time with them in the past.
She says most groomers in Wisconsin are self-taught, with the certified groomers focusing more on show animals.
“Most of them are self-taught and do it out of love,” said Thomas.
She says she went to school in Cornell, but has seen a lot of new faces in town since she moved back in 2015.
Thomas says she has enjoyed meeting all the new people since she officially opened for business.
“It’s been fun,” said Thomas. “I enjoy meeting animals, too.”
Thomas says she has kept busy, thanks to word of mouth, and would like the pet spa to become a full-time venture for her at some point in the future.
“I do this for my fun job,” said Thomas.
Paw Prints Pet Spa is open Mondays and Tuesdays, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Thursdays and Fridays, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Those interested in setting up an appointment for their pet, should call 715-239-2019.
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Paw Prints Pet Spa is located on Main Street in Cornell. Owner Tara Thomas says the location is a great fit for the pet spa, as it was already set up with salon hair tubs. She says she is working on getting the finishing touches completed on the wash tub area. Photo by Julia Wolf[/caption]
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Tara Thomas opened Paw Prints Pet Spa March 1. The new business primarily offers grooming and bathing services for dogs and cats, though Thomas says she would like to expand the services she offers as the businessgrows. Photo by Julia Wolf[/caption]
