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FOUNTAIN — From Mayo Clinic to grooming Maltese, Tara Hershberger decided it was time for a career change and started her own dog grooming business.
Pretty Paws by Tara held its grand opening on Dec. 9, 2023. The business held a soft opening in August, but finally held its official grand opening after the community banded together to construct its new building.
Hershberger worked for Mayo Clinic for 23 years before deciding it was time for a career change. She was taking her annual time off to show horses and knew it was time to do something different.
“I had asked the Lord and I was like, ‘So what can I do?’ and it was either a coffee shop or a dog grooming shop,” said Hershberger. “It just came to me and I clip the horses for shows and stuff, so that wasn’t super scary to me.”
She began by taking an online class on dog grooming before going and shadowing a groomer in Harmony, Minnesota. She has four dogs to practice on at home and genuinely enjoys getting to work with animals all day.
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When Hershberger first began this in August, she was grooming dogs out of her grain bin. She knew she would have to find a new location as the weather got colder.
“I’m like, ‘we need to get something built,’” said Hershberger. “My husband broke his ankle and so our church came together and built this in one day. They didn’t get the interior walls up, but everything else was done. That was on a Saturday, and I was in here grooming the next Thursday.”
The average grooming schedule varies from breed to breed. Some dog breeds, like poodle mixes, tend to be higher maintenance compared to a golden retriever. Doodle breeds tend to be seen every eight weeks, where golden retrievers might only be groomed every three months.
Each appointment time varies, too. Medium dogs can take anywhere from an hour and a half to two hours. Because of this, Hershberger has made a nice waiting area for pet owners to wait and enjoy a cup of coffee.
“People can stay if they want, but most of them just like to drop their pets off and leave,” said Hershberger. “Then I text them when it’s done, but there’s a few that stay and so I have coffee for them.”
In addition to the coffee, Hershberger wanted to make sure her business was somewhere people wanted to come. She spent a lot of time deciding how she wanted to decorate her space. She incorporated a pop of color into the place by adding a bright pink accent wall into the building and painting the doors pink as well.
“I knew that I wanted it to have the boutique feel,” said Hershberger. “So, I knew I wanted white and gold and that the bathroom is white, gold and black. I wanted to be like when you walk in and it to feel like a boutique. It’s not just like a dirty dog groomer, it’s actually like a cool place to go.”
She also wanted the dogs to be extra pretty when they leave. She has a variety of bandannas and bows for the dogs to wear after their haircut.
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Dog groomers in the area have been really busy recently. Hershberger has been mainly getting business from word of mouth, Facebook and radio ads. Even though she is new to the industry, she is booked out a couple weeks in advance with more clientele coming to her each week.
Despite being busy, Hershberger is enjoying the ability to make her own schedules. She has children that she can now spend more time with and go to all of their extracurricular events. The extra time with family has been one of the big perks of this career change.
She is very grateful for the overwhelming amount of support the community has shown her. She wouldn’t have been able to set up her new building without the support of her church. For her, this is also an opportunity to give back to her community in a special way.
“Your pup will come looking scraggly and they will leave looking beautiful,” said Hershberger. “I love giving. I just want to help people.”
Pretty Paws by Tara
21161 County 8, Fountain, MN 55935
507-421-1487
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