Get Your Pup Pampered at Merrimack's New Doggie Spaw

If you haven't noticed the new storefront that has joined the Skyline Mall, make sure to take a peek the next time you drive by. If you see a person on the side of the road in a dog suit make sure to smile and wave.

Tucked between Ryly's Gourmet Market and Bliss by Design, near the center of the plaza is home to Merrimack's newest dog groomers and these two ladies are ready to give your dog a heck of an experience.

Colleena Ferreira and Katrina Markham make up a mother/daughter duo who couldn't be more excited to have found a new home in Merrimack.

The pair owned the Milford Dog House on Nashua Street for  a year before looking for a new location with better parking and easier access than their Milford store. They found the spot vacated by Performance Countertops earlier this year and knew they'd found their new home. They opened their doors in September.

It was already laid out just how they needed it. A fresh coat of soothing shades of green and crisp white accents and a retiled floor was about the extent of what they needed to transform the store to make it their own. 

The Merrimack Doggie Spaw is the perfect place to take your pup or pups for a bath and a trim or a full service grooming appointment. They also have several add ons that include basics like nail clipping, de-shedding treatments, and flea and tick relief to pampering treatments like a blueberry facial, an indulgent milk bath and a coat of dog-safe Nail Paw-lish.

According to Ferreira, this has been a passion of her daughter's since she was about 10 years old.

"Katrina has always been really deep into grooming," Ferreira said. 

It started when she began grooming their Maltese puppy Lola and Ferreira was equally impressed by the work her young daughter could do for their Weimaramer to get him spiffed up.

Markham is a 2010 graduate of Milford High School, and she went to grooming school at Granite State Dog Center in Amherst. The intensive course was six months of hands-on training where she improved basic skills she was already familiar with and learned to really pamper dog. 

"It was all hands-on, very little book work," Markham said. "I worked with dogs every day."

Markham does all of the grooming, while Ferreira runs the business side of the Doggie Spaw. Ferreira's worked for her husband's construction company over the years, doing the books and said she was excited to start this venture with her daughter.

At the Doggie Spaw, Ferreira and Markham say their clients can expect their dogs to be treated like they are part of the family. They are never caged and because the business is by appointment-only, there is no waiting for service. 

Instead of cages there are three large fenced in areas available for the dogs to relax in following their treatments. The only time they take more than one dog at a time is if they are part of the same family.

Clients, both four-legged and two-legged, can expect a personalized experience. The pair is hands-on with the dogs the whole time they are at the facility .

Ferreira said they have a great set of followers and fans in Milford where they got their start, and though they've closed the store front, they still take appointments out of their home – which is fabulous for their customers who would have to otherwise travel from Milford to Merrimack for a grooming appointment.

Ferreira said they've had such a positive start to their business in Milford, they can only hope to see the same in Merrimack.

"People tell us they bring their dogs to us because they know we're going to care for them and treat them as if they are our own," Ferreira said. "That's a nice feeling to know they feel that way."

New clients are warmly welcomed in both Merrimack and in Milford, Ferreira said. While grooming visits are by appointment, if they don't have a scheduled appointment and someone walks in, they may be able to accommodate them. It's akin to a hair salon Ferreira said. 

"Our motto is 'Get yours pampered,'" Ferreira said.  "We try to make a dog's stay here as comfortable as possible, it's like being at a salon." 

For more information, stop in to talk to Ferreira or Markham at 380 Daniel Webster Highway, or call 429-3647. You can also email doggiespawnh@yahoo.com, visit them online at www.bestdoggroomingnh.com or find them on Facebook.

Milford-area customers can also reach them at 673-3647.