Michele's Paw Spa opened its doors on March 10, 2010 in Hugo/Centerville, Minnesota, and has been owned and operated by Michele Whitney ever since. Michele's welcomes you into a clean and friendly salon where your pet will be treated like family. We offer a wide range of services for dogs and cats of all ages; we also offer several levels of specialty spa packages. Our grooming staff has over 60 years combined experience and is happy to meet your specific grooming needs. Bring in your pet and we will take them from tub to trim and send them home smelling fantastic with tails a waggin'.
Michele Whitney has been grooming professionally for over 20 years and is the sole owner and operator of Michele's Paw Spa. Michele bred show-quality Standard Poodles for 20 years and shipped them all over the country. After grooming professionally for other people, Michele decided to follow her dream of opening her own grooming shop and working for herself. She decided to open up Pro Groom while being a stay-at-home mom and it began as a business out of her home. After the business grew she renamed it Michele's Paw Spa, and decided to move to a new location in Hugo; shortly after she moved a few doors down to the location that she is currently in. Michele's Paw Spa celebrated its grand opening day on March 10th, 2010 and the rest is history. Since then she has created amazing friendships with the local vets and often has clients recommended to her by them. Michele has been married to Roy Whitney for 25 years and they have three children together, her daughter Sara, and her two sons Allan and Richard. You may see them helping Michele at the shop when you stop by. Michele prides herself on her ability to meet grooming standards for all breeds. She also does an exceptional job completing the "lion cut" when requested on a cat groom. Michele grooms cats and dogs, as well as the occasional bunny and guinea pig, and if you get lucky you might even catch her clipping a family member's hair. Michele has groomed most every breed of cat and dog but she especially enjoys grooming Yorkie's, Poodle's, and Golden-doodle's. Michele's Paw Spa offers a wide range of services and Michele is available throughout the week, ready to create a lasting memory that goes above and beyond your expectations and will end your search for a long-term groomer!
Diane Bauman has been grooming professionally since 1969. Her mother bred Poodles in Hugo as far back as she can remember, and raised show quality dogs. She started grooming dogs, and taught Diane the skills she now knows about grooming. Realm Kennels was her mother's breeding business and her first show dog was Prince of the Realm. Diane has been married for 7 years, and she has three children, 2 sons and a daughter, along with 5 grandchildren. Diane has been working at Michele's since just after they opened. The two have known each other for over 10 years and they love grooming together at the shop. Through the years she noticed many changes in the industry and what the current trends were, from the favorite pure bred dogs to the designer dogs to everything in between. She has groomed show dogs in the Dutch Cut, Continental Cut, and Town & Country Cuts as well as many other styles. Diane has groomed a variety of breeds of both dogs and cats, and even once groomed a chicken. Her hand-scissor skills have grown into an art over the years and she really enjoys grooming Poodle's, Westie's, and Bichon Frise's. Diane also has her own private business where she makes Pet Plumes and Personalized Pet Bandanas, all of which are available for purchase inside Michele's Paw Spa. Michele's Paw Spa offers a wide range of services and Diane is available throughout the week, ready to meet all your grooming needs!
Barb Chapman graduated in 2005 from the Universal Academy of Animal Arts and started grooming professionally shortly after in 2005. She groomed recreationally for 20 years prior to working at Michele's Paw Spa. She was an aircraft mechanic for 20 years at Northwest Airlines and decided to follow her dreams of becoming a professional groomer when they decided to merge with Delta Airlines. Her passion for animals and the art of grooming is second to none. Barb has been with her partner Becky for 24 years now and they have a 10 year old Bichon Frise - Poodle named Biscotti who you can find sleeping comfortably in her kennel next to Barb on any given day in the shop. Barb and Michele have known each other for close to 10 years now and she jumped at the opportunity to work with Michele at a professional grooming shop. She started grooming at Minnesota Vet and that is where the two of them met and soon after became great friends. Barb works hard to make sure that her clients always leave happy, and you can be sure that they were treated like royalty coming into the shop for a personal spa day. Barb grooms a variety of dogs, with every pet getting a multi-product bath and nail trim. Barb is happy to groom any breed of animal but especially enjoys grooming Yorkie's, Shih Tzu's, and Welsh and Airedale Terrier Breeds; she will also gladly complete the first puppy groom on any breed. Michele's Paw Spa offers a wide range of services and Barb is available throughout the week, ready to meet all your grooming needs!
Jocylynn Cabrera has always been an animal lover, she began grooming dogs about 3 years ago. She was professionally trained at a large retailer and after working there for some time, she decided that she was looking for a more personalized workplace. December of 2013 Jocylynn began working at Michele's Paw Spa, and after a crazed holiday season she was ready to keep going. She excels in a fast-paced environment and has always been a person who juggles many jobs at once. Along with dog grooming, she works as an EMT for the White Bear Lake Fire Department, and nanny's several children. Jocylynn fit right in at Michele's, eager to learn new techniques and always having a "can-do" attitude. Jocylynn has two dogs of her own, CoCo, a Jack Russel/Japanese Chin mix, and a Husky named Ayla. As a groomer, she always makes sure that everything is done right, and is always looking for something new to try. Jocylynn loves to groom large breeds, especially Golden Retriever's, Austrailian Shepard's, and Sheltie's. Being a large dog owner herself, large breeds are where she excels. Michele's Paw Spa offers a wide range of services and Jocylynn is available throughout the week, ready to meet all your grooming needs!
Denise Berg has loved dogs her whole life, she started working at a vet clinic when she was 15 years old. She has been grooming professionaly for almost 25 years now, and has only grown more passionate. Denise worked in a variety of different fields prior to grooming animals, but found that she had the perfect skill set for the job. She is currently a junior in college, and is pursuing a degree for a career as a GIS Analyst. Denise has Yorkie's of her own, along with a Maltese and a cat, which came into her family from a rescue facility. She has fostered animals in the past and also volunterred for various rescue organizations to help animals find new homes. Denise began working for Michele in December of 2013; they worked with each other at a grooming salon in the past. Denise enjoys grooming small dogs, with Yorkie's topping the list of her favorite breed. Michele's Paw Spa offers a wide range of services and Denise is available throughout the week, ready to meet all your grooming needs!
Lisa Sandford has always loved animals, all kinds from the furry to the scaly. She has always had pets from the usual dog or cat, to the unusual, snake or spider. She was lucky to be able to turn that passion for pets into a career that she loves. She started out working as a home health aide 6.5 years in an Alzheimer’s unit. Meanwhile she attended college and raised her 2 children Madeline and Dominic. As a member of Phi Theta Kappa, in college she was VP of fellowship and coordinated many events within the community from Relay for Life to roadside cleanups. She began her apprenticeship under her aunt, a certified master groomer, while she was working on her degree in college. Grooming came naturally to Lisa in those years she was apprenticing and eventually made the choice to become a certified groomer in 2007. As much as she enjoyed working with people, it was clear that grooming was her niche. She was happy to see her daughter also grew to love working with dogs and followed suit by apprenticing under Lisa for several years and later becoming a groomer herself at the young age of 18. Lisa has been able to combine the patience and compassion she has always had to grooming. She is well known for her ability to handle difficult dogs, senior dogs and dogs with high anxiety, she will always give you a fair and honest opinion on what type of grooming situation is going to best suit your pet's needs. She enjoys working on poodles, bichon frise, golden retrievers and Pomeranians. She considers scissor work with longer lengths an opportunity to shine and showcase her skills. She is extremely flexible with her times and is happy to shift her schedule to suit your needs, offering day evening and weekend appointments. At the end of the day she is happy to return home to her little zoo. She is the proud pet parent of 2 dogs, 3 cats, 6 ferrets, a very large South American cichlid and a ball python.
