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Dog Grooming Outside

July 27, 2020

When Busy Bones Pet Studio owner Misty Porter learned how to groom her standard poodles, she enjoyed it so much she decided to start a business out of it.

“I’d had a love for dogs for many years,” she said. “I’ve owned standard poodles for six years now, and it came to a point where I knew I wanted to learn how to groom them, and then I realized ‘hey you’re actually pretty good at that,’ and I enjoy doing it, and my mentor who has been training me, he kind of nudged me along, like ‘let’s do this.’ So being out in Gary, I thought this might be a good service for those who are remote, so people don’t have to go into town.”

Porter runs the business with Nick Harvey, who trained her how to groom and has over 20 years of experience, even having groomed Reveille at A&M College Station in the past.

Porter said grooming is a good outlet for her creativity.

“I started learning how to groom in February,” Porter said. “So I’m fairly new, but I have a background. I was raised in agriculture 4-H and I used to show steers growing up. So we used to cut their hair and groom them, so I’m familiar with doing a lot of that, and then over the years I’ve had my own pets that require grooming that I’ve done… I would get on YouTube and try to teach myself how to do it, and it’s just kind of been more of a natural knack. I’m a very visual person, so I can see it, and it’s just worked out really well.”

Porter offers grooming for dogs of all ages, sizes and breeds. They cut nails and do gland expression as well. Recently, they’ve opened up overnight boarding, and they plan to start doggie daycare next month.

The business is in a building outside Porter’s home.

“What I like about it is that we’re there all the time, so we can give service all the time,” she said. “It’s not like we leave at a certain time and your dogs are there by themselves. I’m super excited about it because I get to be around animals, and then not only that but I love people, and we get to meet their animals which are like their kids and make everybody happy. I mean it’s just been really fun learning about the different kinds of breeds, and the different dogs, different personalities, and it’s been great. I was a teacher for 10 years, so I feel like I’ve traded in kids for dogs. “

Porter feels like they give a different experience at Busy Bones Pet Studio.

“You come out to Gary, and we live on our 400-acre farm,” she said. “It’s quiet out there, the dogs get a different experience, especially if they live in town. We’re just excited to be able to meet more people from the community and help those that need a service for their animal.”

Busy Bones gives discounts for multiple dogs coming in, for boarding depending on length of stay, and for regular customers. They’re located at 351 County Road 177 in Gary. They can be reached by phone at (903) 692-8577

“At Busy Bones, we aim to make their experience fun, comfortable and as close to home as possible,” Porter said. “We have experience with all different types of dogs and can adapt to meet their needs.”

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