Experienced dog groomer opens salonThursday, 02 July 2009by Joni AstrupAssociate editor

Shelly Liestman’s smallest client is a wisp of a thing, no bigger than a pop can, while her largest tips the scales at about 165 pounds.Both are dogs, and grooming them is all in a dayBoth are dogs, and grooming them is all in a day’s work for Liestman. She recently opened a new business in Elk River called Scooby Do’s Grooming Salon.The pop-can-sized dog is a teacup poodle puppy, while the large dog is a Bernese mountain dog. She grooms dogs their size and everything in between.Liestman said her most unusual client is a Puli, a type of dog that is covered in dreadlocks.Liestman has been a dog groomer for 13 years. She opened her own grooming business Liestman has been a dog groomer for 13 years. She opened her own grooming business after working for others. Scooby Do’s is located at 18857 Freeport St., just north of the Holiday Station at School Street and Highway 169.The state of the economy didn’t deter her from launching her business now.“Even though the economy is bad, people still love their pets and the pet grooming industry hasn’t really taken a big hit like a lot of other things,” Liestman said. “And then I thought, well, I will be open when the economy gets good, and I’ll have a clientele built up.”Besides oBesides offering dog grooming services, Scooby Do’s sells leashes, collars, chew toys and “Angel Eyes,” an all-natural food additive that clears up the discharge that appears around the eyes of some dogs.Liestman also has spa packages with the option of a variety of services including tooth brushing, hot oil treatment, leave-in conditioner, an oatmeal bath, upgraded shampoo and nail dremeling.AA native of Paynesville, Liestman started grooming dogs while still in high school. She later trained at a grooming shop in the Twin Cities and worked at a pet hospital in Monticello for seven years before opening her own business.She has been around animals all her life. She grew up on a lake with a menagerie of pets — cats, dogs, horses, lizards, turtles, ducks and rabbits.Her mom only had one rule when it came to animals: “We could have any kind of animal except anything that looked like a mouse,” Liestman said with a laugh.She said she likes dog grooming because itShe said she likes dog grooming because it’s different every day and it’s fun to make the dogs look cute.“You do have your bad days with naughty dogs,” Liestman said, but takes pride in the fact that only once has she been bitten hard enough to draw blood.

Scooby Do’s hours are 7 a.m.–5 p.m. Monday–Friday, 7 a.m.–7 p.m. Tuesday and 8 a.m.–5 p.m. Saturday. New clients get $5 off the first groom. Punch cards are also available in which after the 10th groom, the 11th one is half off.

For more information about Scooby DoFor more information about Scooby Do’s Grooming Salon, call 763-633-2333, or go to www.scoobydos.com.