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BUCHANAN – A friendly open counter and a white picket fence gate greet humans and canines alike as they enter Blue Paw Pet Spa, 324 E. Dewey St., in Buchanan.

The owner, Kacy Risner, is combining her 10 years of experience in rescue work and corporate grooming to open her own pet grooming spa in Buchanan. Her business will offer baths, haircuts, brush-outs, nail services, ear cleaning, teeth brushing and more for dogs to keep their skin and coats healthy. She also offers dog nail polish, flea and tick shampoos, deodorizing treatments and de-shedding services.

One of her dogs, Calypso, joined her in the spa as Risner prepared for her first day in business. Calypso’s sparkly toes showed off a bit of the fun Risner has as she cares for the animals entrusted to her.

Risner has been grooming dogs for about six years, and has a heart for canines of all backgrounds.

“I have a background of corporate grooming and rescue work, so I’ve taken everything I’ve learned over the last decade or so and brought it into my own space,” she said. “I do work on a lot of dogs that have been previously excused from other salons, to say it nicely.”
Through her training, Risner said she was trained by a groomer who specialized in working with dogs who were nervous, aggressive or had a bad history.

“I worked with rehabilitating them, and getting them more comfortable, not only with grooming but also just being dogs,” she said. “Dogs can have a bad start and a bad go. They are not bad dogs, they just need a little something special.”
Risner’s own dogs are all rescues, and she has done work with multiple rescue organizations. She has seen the impact patient grooming can have on the lives of dogs coming from poor situations. When dogs are coming from a bad situation, Risner said their skin and coat can be in poor condition.

“[I have] worked a lot with rescues to get their dogs ready. A well-maintained, groomed dog, unfortunately and fortunately, finds a home a lot faster,” Risner said. “A lot of people have a hard time looking past their current conditions sometimes. If we can get the dog cleaned up, and looking and feeling good, it really opens up their prospects to find good homes. That’s a beautiful thing, right there.”

More information on services and booking with Risner can be found at BluePawPetSpa.com, and on Facebook at Blue Paw Pet Spa’s page.