Lacy’s Struttin’ Mutts moves to new location

After 10 years in the strip mall on Main Avenue, Lacy’s Struttin’ Mutts moved into the old Porter’s Flooring location on Heritage Parkway.

Owner Lacy Dooley began her pet grooming career as a part-time bather and brusher at a grooming shop in 2000 while also working at the Tea Vet Clinic. In 2004, she decided it was time to go to grooming school and officially became a groomer and later opened her own business.

Now, she says being able to operate out of the larger space on Heritage Parkway, means she can hire more groomers and offer more services.

“We just ran out of space. I ran out of space a handful of years ago realistically. This way I can hire more groomers and offer more services, too, over here,” she said.

She had to be out of her old location by the end of July so the move into the new building was quick. They swapped over to the new location and closed down for a day.

“The next day a couple of my girls started working. It took me a little bit of time to get everything together but I feel like we’re finally almost there,” she said.

Dooley grooms on average seven or eight dogs a day. Her other three full-time groomers do about six a day. In addition to the groomers, they have a full-time assistant and a part-time helper.

“I’m super happy with my girls that I’ve got on board with me and I think we’ve got a really great team and headed in the right direction to grow together and develop together and continue to be able to offer more services,” she said.

In addition to the grooming area, the new building also features a bathing area, boarding and indoor play area. Future plans include an outside fenced-in turf area and doggy daycare.

Dooley sees dogs mostly from the Sioux Falls area, but she has dogs that come from Iowa, Minnesota, Flandreau, Winner and Rapid City. They groom dogs from 3-pound Yorkies to 300-pound Newfoundlands.

They groom to breed standards, but they also groom to what people like.

“It’s what each individual wants for their pet, what’s practical for them and their lifestyle, how often they’re going to do brushing at home and how often they want to bring them in gears us toward what type of cut works for each individual dog,” Dooley said.

Each time a dog comes into the shop, they are scrubbed twice with different shampoos and conditioner. They clean their ears and anal glands and clip their toenails. If a person wants to upgrade, they can do the pampered pet which means an upgraded shampoo, teeth brushing with breath spray, filing toenails, a moisturizing paw cream and a finishing spray.

Dooley, who lives in Worthing, likes the small town feel of Tea.

“It has been absolutely wonderful to me,” she said. “It’s just a great community and I love the small town feel.”