| | Mary Lou Smith (from, left) cuddles a recent customer as her daughters, Michelle Louis and Christina Lewis care for a couple of members of their canine clientele. (Photo by Janine Giordano) | |
Walking into Kreative Klippers in Richfield Springs is unlike walking into any other dog grooming salon around. It actually smells good, like apples and cinnamon, not like wet dog. It’s peaceful, with a radio piping in easy tunes, not blaring, just loud enough to hear and enjoy. None of the dogs are yapping, yelping or whining. The energy is calm, with already clipped customers lounging peacefully in kennel crates, despite the resident cat, Webster, keeping vigil. It is easy to see that for many of these canines, coming for a grooming is as enjoyable as a trip to the day spa. Better yet, it is like visiting grandma’s or a favorite aunt’s home. After speaking with owners and groomers, Mary Lou Smith and her two daughters, Michelle Louis and Christina Lewis, the reasoning is apparent. They are loving and peaceful. And happy. They love their work, and they seem to love each and every dog brought into their care. Loving animals seems to be a hereditary thing. “We’ve always had horses,” Smith explained as she pointed out their 9-year-old, very chubby and peaceful looking cat, Webster, resting in one of the crates. Smith disappeared into one of the back rooms for a moment, then came back with a very colorful Quaker parrot on her shoulder. This was Kiwi, she said, and just as Webster has been labeled the overseer, Kiwi fills the role of customer service representative, or in simpler terms, he greets the customers. Their flock, which includes two parakeets, Blue and Diego, is about to expand even more with the upcoming addition of a cockatoo named Mango, Smith noted. Along with Webster, Smith’s birds and her horses, she also owns a St. Bernard, Charlie, who is 1 year old, and three jack Russells, Chachi, Patches and K.C. Add in her daughters’ horses and dogs, and the picture becomes even more clear. “We have a tendency to accumulate animals,” Smith said. “We’ve always been like this. That’s why I got into it.” After Smith’s eldest daughter, Michelle, graduated locally, the two took a trip to Lexington, Ky. to attend Nash Academy, a grooming school. Within three months, the mother and daughter were certified groomers. “You don’t find (certified groomers) a lot up here,” Smith said. Which may be why they have accumulated an estimated 200 customers over the last 15 years. “With Michelle here, we can bring in 15 a day now,” Christina said. “It amazes me that Richfield Springs has this many people needing (this service). Although we are getting more from Cooperstown lately,” she added. “A lot of people just decide they want to be a groomer and they just do it,” Smith said. Both daughters took some time away from home for a while, with Christina joining the service and Michelle heading south to Florida. While in Florida, Michelle said she studied dog training and is now looking forward to adding this service to the family business. “We’ve been thinking about expanding,” Smith said. “We keep going around and around about what to do. We’re going to do boarding, the barn is being renovated for that. And there will be a training area out where the girls used to ride.” “Now that I’m here we’ll get together and brainstorm,” Michelle said with a smile. “We want to expand outwards,” Smith said, gesturing around the tiny, brightly lit shop. “But we’d have to close down to do that.” And even as she speaks, Smith’s voice grows wistful, as if she is not looking forward to being away from her furry clientele for the time it would take to do the renovations. “You have to be so careful with them,” she spoke in a motherly, almost grandmotherly, tone. “You have to be careful that your groomer doesn’t ruin the dog. We don’t like to take dogs after another groomer has ruined them. They just have personality conflicts,” she said, petting Kiwi as he perched on her shoulder. “If we keep this just (within the) family, we’ll always know the dogs aren’t neglected in any way,” she added.
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