There’s a new pet care business in the Comox Valley.
Jessica Termuende opened the doors to Far Fetched Grooming, at 720 30th St, Courtenay on Monday, June 15 - the same location as what was Pets In The City.
Termuende has many years of experience with pet care industry.
“I’ve been in the pet industry for about 11 years,” she said. “I’ve managed pet stores, built up POS systems in pet stores.
“My parents own a pet store on Salt Spring Island, and I’ve been a certified groomer for about three years…. that includes cat and dog grooming.”
She said the grooming was a natural evolution of her professional ambitions.
“My nutrition skills in pet nutrition, cat- and dog-wise had pretty much reached its peak about three years ago, so I wanted to expand my knowledge and went to a grooming course.”
Once she gained her certification, she began grooming at her parents’ Salt Spring Island store, before moving to Campbell River, where she groomed in-house at a local pet store for the past two years.
Termuende said while she recognizes the COVID-19 pandemic has not made this the ideal time to open a business, she came across an opportunity that was simply too good to ignore.
“I have always been looking for my own space that I would own personally,” she said. “Because of COVID I was not able to continue at [the pet store] in Campbell River, but all of a sudden, the Pets In The City building sort of landed in my lap and it was an opportunity I just couldn’t pass up.”
Termuende said former Pets In The City customers will see a lot of changes when they come to Far Fetched Grooming.
“One of the first things is the retail end - they did not have a retail portion,” she said, adding that the grooming portion of the business will be expanded. “I will be bringing in more groomers who are all experienced, so we will be doing a lot more grooming than [Pets In The City] did.
“The daycare will stay the same. We will still be doing the walks - two walks a day.”
Termuende said that while she did not inherit a client list from the previous owners, she is hopeful that a good percentage of their clients will return.
“Because I didn’t purchase Pets In The City as a shareholder purchase … that did not allow me to have a client list. I do see on Facebook that a lot of people who [were clients of] Pets In The City are asking when the facility will reopen, so I hope the clients will stay.”
She also has plans to eventually introduce a dog splash facility at Far Fetched.
“It’s basically a water park for dogs. That’s something I am definitely considering. I would have to check with city bylaws and licence restrictions, but that is something I am considering.”
Hours of operation for Far Fetched Grooming are 7 a.m.-6 p.m.
“I will start accepting clients for daycare and grooming as of June 18th,” said Termuende. “The grand opening will be July 2. We will have dunking for tennis balls and other vendors at the reopening.”
For more information, check out the website at farfetchedgrooming.com or visit the Far Fetched Grooming Facebook page
terry.farrell@blackpress.ca
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