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Yip, yip hooray for Pet Set Salon
About Your Pets
By Margo Oxendine, Staff Writer
ASHWOOD - Bath County dogs have something wonderful to wag about: The Pet Set Salon.
Judy Maliwauki opened her doors in Ashwood six weeks ago. Her first client, a precious powder-puff of a Maltese named Sadie Shifflett,is now a regular, as are a growing number of other beloved doggie darlings. Waiting patiently last week for Sadie to be primped and polished was Gabby Brinkley, who came over from Millboro for her first appointment. Most Pet Set Salon clients keep standing appointments, rather than settle for a one-time shot at glitz and glamour.
Maliwauki, who stops short of divulging her age, has been grooming dogs since she was in high school. "Obviously, some people can do the math," she laughs, "but it's at least 23 years." Her grooming skills have won several competitions with wire-haired fox terriers and standard poodles. She is certified with the National Dog Groomer's Association.
Maliwauki came by her love of animals naturally. "My mom showed dogs; she had apricot poodles. She had at least one dog who showed at Westminster."
 | | Judy Maliwauki displays a freshly-groomed Sadie Shifflettat the Pet Set Salon. Sadie's people are Whitney Shifflett,and her parents, Missy and Melvin. (Recorder photo by Margo Oxendine) |
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As any dog lover knows, the Westminster Kennel Club presents the premier dog show in America, if not the world. And anyone who watches The Animal Planet knows, a handsome and adorable Beagle, "Uno," took home top honors this year.
Maliwauki learned how to do "show clips" for poodles from her mother. What's a show clip? "Well, it's the poodle cut with the pom-poms," she explains. "It's called the Continental Clip."
Maliwauki's mother also had a dog grooming business, a natural outcropping, if you will, from all those poodle cuts. "I helped my mom run her business, which was also called 'Pet Set Salon,' and then ran my own business for 11 years before I moved up here. I had a wonderful clientele back in Newport News."
She's looking forward to more of the same here in Bath County, now that her shop is open for business. That officially happened last week, when Bath Chamber of Commerce executive director Melinda Nichols showed up, Cindy Gray in tow, and with Maliwauki and Sadie, cut the standard yellow ribbon that signifies a new chamber member.
The Pet Set Salon is open by appointment, by calling 839-3409. Maliwauki emphasizes she has "very flexible hours. I can be convenient to people who want to bring their dog by after work, but I definitely need some warning, since this is an in-home business."
Maliwauki has renovated a back porch into a nice, cozy salon. There are several crates of different sizes, large enough for a standard poodle or English sheepdog, small enough for a Yorkshire terrier. A commercial-grade, industrial strength dryer
is on hand, as is a human-sized bathtub
for bathing. Sitting near the tub are special medicated shampoos, fleashampoos, foo-foo shampoos, conditioners. "I also have some fleaproducts," she notes. "I like to use the natural products when I bathe the dogs; there's a lot less chance of a bad reaction."
Maliwauki has all the tools of the trade, and knows how to use them. There are clippers of all sorts for hair and fur, as well as nails. If you want your dog's toenails painted, though, you'll either have to bring your own polish, or "settle for some shade I might have of my own," she laughs.
The Pet Set Salon does not limit its clientele to pampered purebreds. "I'll consider any dog," Maliwauki says. Asked if she could take an old farm dog and make him look good, she thought a moment and then replied, "Well, I can make him smell good, I hope!"
With the opening of the Pet Set Salon, yet another business niche has been filled. Bath County dogs, and most certainly their owners, can breathe a perfumed sigh of relief.
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