Yuppy Puppy Bed and Biscuit hopes to change pet care industry dogma

Cynthia Thrasher couldn’t find a dog groomer in the Bradenton area where she felt comfortable taking Lucky, her 12-year-old toy Pomeranian rescue. So she decided to open the ideal place herself.

In addition to filling a business and service void she saw in the community, Thrasher’s flower shop took a hit after the Great Recession.

“Nobody wants to buy a flower if you can’t pay your mortgage, you know?” said Thrasher, 57.

She and her mom, Inez Simpson, 75, opened a dog grooming business under the name Great Cuts for Mutts about three years ago. After a while, Thrasher wanted to spend more time on her other passion, providing couple’s therapy. Thrasher said she learned the business trade from Simpson, who operated RV parks and day care centers while Thrasher was growing up.

When Simpson stepped in to take over managing the business, the mother-daughter team decided it would be a good idea to change the name while they were making the managerial changes. The business’ two locations now operate under the Yuppy Puppy Bed and Biscuit name.

“People didn’t like their dogs being called mutts,” Thrasher said.

Her goal with Yuppy Puppy is to provide Bradenton-area communities with a dog grooming shop where both dogs and owners are happy to visit. Too many times, Thrasher said, she’s heard “nightmare stories” from her groomers about previous places of employment.

“We try to make it a fun experience for them,” she said. “And we go at the dog’s pace. Sometimes the dog needs a break and a lot of people try to push them through and it stresses out the dog.”

For dogs that are waiting to head into the grooming salon or waiting for owners to retrieve them after they’ve been cleaned up, Yuppy Puppy has small, indoor fenced areas with beds, not cages, and a full water bowl. Thrasher also emphasized that Yuppy Puppy doesn’t use heat when drying dogs after a bath because it can easily dehydrate and stress the dogs.

Groomers also take the dogs to an outdoor area for bathroom breaks when needed. To make sure her pet-friendly goals are met, Thrasher can open an app on her mobile phone and supervise Yuppy Puppy’s two locations via a live security feed.

Loy McColm, a five-year area resident, has taken her two 13-year-old toy poodles, Sammi and Sophie, to Yuppy Puppy for about three years, since the shop opened under the name Great Cuts for Mutts. McColm previously took the dogs to other groomers. They would shake before and after, so McColm set out to find another place for them.

“I wanted to find a comfortable place for the girls,” McColm said Friday as she dropped Sammi and Sophie off. “Here (at Yuppy Puppy) they’re very thorough, they do a great job and they’re very friendly.”

Ultimately, Thrasher wants to see the image of the pet care industry change, and she hopes Yuppy Puppy can be a part of that.

“Your dog shouldn’t be shaking and scared to death to get their hair cut,” she said. “Some places look at pets like they’re just a commodity instead of a live animal.”

This story was originally published June 16, 2017 at 2:06 PM with the headline "Yuppy Puppy Bed and Biscuit hopes to change pet care industry dogma."