DOWAGIAC — Deb Rohdy recalled a question she received back in 2015, from a passerby as she was setting up her shop, Bow Wow Bakery & Bath in downtown Dowagiac.

The passerby inquired about what the building she had bought was going to become. When she responded that it would be a dog grooming and dog food store, the person asked if she thought that would work in a town like Dowagiac.

Now in her fifth year of business, Rohdy said 75 percent of her clientele is from Dowagiac and that her store serves a need in the community.

The idea for the business stemmed from Rohdy and her husband, Curt’s, travels around the country.

Rohdy and Curt belonged to a club and would notice little pet stores in the areas they visited, one in particular, located in Traverse City, Michigan, stood out. Rohdy also had a friend with a dog bakery similar to Bow Wow Bakery and Bath that was located in Bridgman.

“I just thought, ‘we could do this,’” Rohdy said of starting her bakery and bath. “It would work in Dowagiac. It would be fun.”

Out of the blue one day, Rohdy’s husband expressed interest in buying a building downtown. After looking at three buildings, they settled on Bow Wow Bakery & Bath’s current location at 145 S. Front St., Dowagiac.

Rohdy retired from Dowagiac Union Schools in May of 2015 and Bow Wow Bakery & Bath was opened on Sept. 30, 2015.

In order to meet grooming needs, Rohdy employs two part-time groomers. Looking back at what she knows now, she said if there was one thing she could do differently, it would have been to open her business a year later so she could attend grooming school. An education in grooming would allow her to act as a backup groomer.

Since the beginning, few things have changed for the business, and Rohdy believes in the saying, “If it’s not broke, don’t fix it.”

“We still kind of shake our heads sometimes, when some dogs — we don’t get them very often — come in in terrible condition,” Rohdy said. “We always think, ‘well they are here now.’”

Bow Wow Bakery & Bath continues to remain active in Dowagiac’s festivals throughout the year. The Cass County Animal Shelter has come into the store for some of the festivals. To date, Rohdy said the adoptions made at the business during Dowagiac’s Ice Festival remains a successful memory.

In her store, Rohdy also keeps a box sitting out for patrons to make donations to the animal shelter. Recently, a woman walked in with a harness she had ordered off Chewy.com. The company had told the woman to donate the item instead of sending it back. The harness now sits in Rohdy’s box ready to be donated to a new animal that needs it.

Rohdy recalled how the cohesiveness of the dog business brings people together. At one point, when the business was slammed, Rohdy reached out to Barb Pendergrass, who lives north of Dowagiac, and she helped pick up Bow Wow Bakery & Bath’s slack.

“It’s just like we all work together,” Rohdy said.

In her fifth year of business, Rohdy still remembers that conversation with the passerby. She has seen the need for dog grooming and dog food services as four boxes sit filled with customers’ information on a desk.

“The reality is, when you put money into a building, you put a new roof on it, and you buy all this inventory, it hits you,” Rohdy said. “You think, ‘gosh maybe it won’t work.’” 

For Rohdy, she said her business is working. Before, she used to have to travel to get her dogs groomed. Even in her own life, she has experienced the added convenience. 

“It’s just a great service that we offer for Dowagiac,” she said. “I think, ‘well, if I ever close, where am I going to go?’ I would hope somebody would buy this building and business together. It’s a need for this area.”