Molly Pawlowski is the owner of a new dog care business in New Palestine called Pretty Paws Grooming. She and her dog Chicken just finished a tooth cleaning session.
NEW PALESTINE — Hanging on the inside wall of her garage is a colorful picture of a big, happy, fury dog. Molly Pawlowski noted her sister-in-law painted it for her as sort of a good luck sign for Molly, who is starting her own dog grooming business called Pretty Paws Grooming.
“I love dogs and I love caring for dogs,” Molly said. “Loving on dogs is my specialty.”
Molly has invested thousands of dollars into washing and grooming gear she’s set up inside the garage of her New Palestine home where she plans to get the business going. She currently is cutting dog hair for family, friends and neighbors, but is looking to expand.
Fresh off of cleaning her dog Chicken’s teeth, Molly was all smiles showing how her system works and explaining why she hopes to one day make the business a full venture.
Molly works for Hancock Regional Health as a phlebotomist and is slowly earning her nursing degree while raising children and being a wife. But, her passion is caring for animals — something she’s done for several years.
Molly started working with dogs when she graduated from New Palestine High School in 2018 when she got a summer job at a dog salon. The position quickly turned into a full-time position. After going to a grooming academy, Molly became a dog salon manager until she had her first child.
She slowly got back into the dog grooming business and found the time to open up her own dog shop and has been going strong ever since.
“This has been my baby,” Molly said pointing at her garage shop.
She grooms both dogs and cats, taking care of them one at a time rather than having people drop off their animals, forcing them to wait in cages until they can be worked on.
“That’s really my whole schtick,” Molly said. “When I used to take Chicken to be groomed, he hated it and at the end of the day it would beat him up making him stressed and exhausted.”
That’s what Molly wants pet owners to understand. Her motto is to take the time with each animal and not make the grooming experience a lengthy, day-long, drawn-out experience.
“I feel like I really have this ability to understand dogs and cats because I pay attention to their cues,” she said. “I’m not gonna fill my shop with a bunch of dogs and make them sit around and wait.”
Molly noted it’s great when people come and pick up their pets after what she calls a “spa day” with her. She says she’ll work with all kinds of dogs, even the most difficult ones.
“It’s hard for people to find a good groomer, and I want to be that person because people love their pets like I love mine,” Molly said. “I’m the type of person who will make sure my kids and my animals have their needs met before mine.”
While Molly says she’s open to growth and may someday open a shop somewhere in New Palestine, for now she wants to stay working at the shop created in her garage where animals’ owners can drive up, drop off their pet and roll right up and get them as soon as they are done.
“I just want people to know I’m here for them,” Molly said.
Animal owners can reach Molly via her Facebook page, Pretty Paws Grooming, or through an email at [email protected].
