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A Snoopy phone - what else would a dog groomer own? - is an accessory put to good use by Joan Hamilton in her business.

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Puppy love - Groomer’s business expanding

by Wanda Combs
Editor

The Groom Room has moved, and owner Joan Hamilton has incorporated several unique touches to her new space, built and designed by daughter Faith and her Faith In Construction company.
Hamilton had been using a section of Faith’s home for her grooming headquarters. Finally opportunity and timing came together, and construction was completed for a larger facility in August. The addition is actually part of Hamilton’s home, next door to Faith’s property, on Route 221, between Floyd and Willis.
The convenience of working “at home” is already being appreciated by Hamilton, just a couple of months after making the change. The new place is also making it possible for this professional groomer to do other things, such as offering classes in basic dog grooming and allowing owners of big dogs to use her elevated tub for their pets.
Hamilton explains she grooms dogs in the morning, but she can teach or offer assistance to pet owners in the afternoon. She usually limits her grooming service to smaller dogs, and she says she is now happy to provide the space for owners to handle their larger pets, for a less expensive fee. She believes that service will especially be valuable for owners in the wintertime. “They can come in here and do their whole dog.” Hamilton supplies the driers and other equipment and will clean up after everyone leaves. There is even a portable staircase to help with getting dogs into the tub.
The new business location offers almost 800 square feet of room. Pastel green walls and white floors lighten up the space. A wall of windows looks out on a hillside view, which at this time of year reveals lots of fall color. An old-time Snoopy dial phone sits on a tiled counter.
Artwork by another daughter, Robin, is showcased on the walls. Robin is head of an art school and a children’s author and illustrator. She and her sisters, Faith and Beth, worked with their mother in her grooming business when they were young girls. Robin and Beth, a client relationship executive for PSI, reside in Vermont. Hamilton has a son, Duane, who works for Northrop Gruman, and lives in King George, Virginia. Her family also includes six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Hamilton became a professional groomer in New Jersey, when she opened a boarding kennel for up to 250 dogs. She has worked locally as a groomer in Hillsville and Christiansburg.
Active with the Floyd County Humane Society, Hamilton helps with that group’s community projects, including pet washings and dips, and her homemade dog bandannas have helped with fundraising.
She plans to sell some bandannas at The Groom Room, with a portion of the proceeds going to the Humane Society. The Groom Room will also offer some pet products.
Hamilton has a special rapport with the pets. If you catch her while she’s working, she will likely have talk radio on. She explains it seems to have a soothing effect on the dogs.
In handling animals, she believes, it’s all about how you approach them.
“I like what I’m doing. I like the animals. I think they sense that.”
Hamilton also enjoys the people in Floyd and the pet owners, whom she said are “wonderful customers.” Everyone, she adds, has been “especially nice. They’re good to me.”