About Us
My name is Marlene and here is a little back story about why I decided to make dog grooming my career. I’ve had dogs ever since I can remember and the one thing that was never missing at home was a dog. However, it wasn’t until my 20th birthday when my uncle gifted me my baby girl Nikki. She was and still is the cutest little shih-tzu and I instantly fell in love with her. As a first-time dog mom there were a lot of things I needed to learn and one of them was the importance of grooming. I learned grooming not only enhances their appearance but also plays a crucial role in their health, as regular grooming helps prevent various skin issues and promotes overall hygiene. The first time Nikki went to get groomed she came back not only completely shaved but with a couple of cuts, that day I decided no one else would ever groom her again. I looked up grooming classes/schools in NYC and enrolled in one of them. Although at first, I only did it to groom my own dog, I quickly realized it was something I genuinely enjoyed. Once I graduated from grooming school, I tried working from home but it was a bit difficult since I did not have a designated space to work on the pups. I then applied to Petco to expand my knowledge and work on as many different breeds as possible to build my portfolio. I worked there for about 2 months before realizing that work environment was not for me so I asked my mom (Belinda) to invest with me to open up our own shop, she agreed with no hesitation.
My mother and I were fortunate to have a successful business for almost 9 years where we built strong relationships with clients and their pets. But when my husband and I decided to move to North Carolina in 2022, I had to sell the business. My mother and I took a few years off from the grooming business but we missed it so much that we decided to embark on a new journey and open up Paw Avenue in Angier.
At Paw Avenue we strive to make every dog grooming experience as pleasant and relaxing as possible. We always aim to identify the unique style of each dog, offering both breed-specific cuts and creative, distinctive hairstyles. In addition to our grooming services, we also provide doggie daycare as well as a range of pet food and grooming supplies. Call us to make your appointment to pamper and spoil your dogs!