Molly Felmingham was 19 when she picked up scissors and gave her dog a Mohawk.
Little did she know, that haircut 12 years ago would kick-start her dog grooming career and now she has opened her own salon, The Furologist, at 33 Hovell St, Wodonga.
Ms Felmingham didn’t think the Mohawk haircut was much chop so she visited a dog groomer for tips but he saw her potential, offering her a job on the spot.
“I learnt a lot from my first job and funnily enough my dog still has the same haircut,” she said.
Ms Felmingham and her partner Chris looked at several locations in Wodonga but couldn’t go past the one they found on the corner of Hovell and Osburn St.
“It’s a great location and after looking at it the owners said they would do the shop fit out and it all just came together in a fortnight and we have been open since July 3,” she said.
“Previous to this I worked at The Dog Education Centre in Wodonga and before that I was at L.A Clips in Wodonga.”
The Furologist is a one-stop-shop for everything from bathing, de-shedding, clipping, carding, nail clipping and paw cleaning to repairs for tear ducts and paw cracks and expressing glands.
“Not all dog groomers express glands, I was taught by a vet nurse to do external glands and this is part of the service if they need it done, the same as ear plucking and flushing,” Ms Felmingham said.
No job is too big or small, with Ms Felmingham specialising in dog behaviour and even offers free grooming services to accredited service dogs.
“Probably what sets me apart is my knowledge in dog behavior,” she said.
“I have done work experience with vets where I further educated myself on dog behavior and things like expressing anal glands.
"I also learnt a lot about dog behaviour from the girls at The Dog Education Centre.
“A big part of dog grooming is picking up on dog behaviour, which can be prompted by anything, such as pain, age, fear, anxiety and a bunch of other things.
“Because I have knowledge on that, I think it makes me a better dog groomer.”
Ms Felmingham said there’s dogs who have had bad grooming experiences, whether with their owner or a groomer and it could be turned around.
“I have a few dogs that have come in and had play sessions where we have built up their confidence around grooming, which is going through the motions of what grooming is but not actually doing it,” she said.
“We turn the equipment on and get them on the table and give them rewards and it just ends in a positive.”
Ms Felmingham is enjoying the freedom of running her own business, with many clients following her from her previous workplaces.
The Furologist Facebook page has attracted a lot of attention with dog owners appreciating satisfying video reels of before and after makeovers.
“My partner Chris taught me how to do the filming, editing and what angles to use and what music to put over the top,” she said.
“We have had great feedback on these.”
The business is open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm.
Due to demand, there are plans to open on Saturdays in the near future.
To make an appointment, phone 0475 098 954.