LOOK AT THE NEWS!

(by Brad Groznik)

NEW BUSINESS TREATS YOUR DOG LIKE A VIP

In this busy world, even a pet is deserving of a little indulgence.

For this reason, Pat Tonielli and Susan Daily have opened Doggy Indulgence, a spa and salon for dogs.

"They have had success in California with dog spas," groomer Tonielli said. "So I did some research and found there was nothing like this in this area."

Tonielli and Daily said Doggy Indulgence is Delmarva's first full-service grooming salon and dog spa. It's located off Willow Grove Road, five miles southwest of Camden.

Doggy Indulgence includes an 8-by-20-foot exercise pool with jet currents, heated to 81 degrees. Tonielli said she can ensure safety by putting each dog in a doggy life vest.

"Dogs really like it," she said.

Tonielli said there are many owners who are not able to give their dogs enough exercise due to hectic work schedules, age or health problems.

Doggy Indulgence allows for one-time swimmers or memberships.

Extravagant grooming also is available at discounted prices with memberships that include a massaging bath, nail trim, ear cleaning, thorough brushing, clipping and bandana.

Room temperature drying makes sure the dog's health is not compromised.

For an additional cost, Doggy Indulgence offers flea and tick removal, de-matthing, nail filing, nail polishing-pawdicures, aromatherapy, shampoos and colognes, hot oil, de-shedding and de-skunking.

Customers can buy their dog a treat like a canine cannoli from the doggy bakery.

The full service is for pets who are members of the family, Daily said.

(page 16A, The Dover Post, September 27, 2006)

Co-Owner Susan Daily with Portia enjoying the pool

(by J. L. Miller)

Even pooches can try the finer things in life

Chuck belongs to one of Delaware's most exclusive spas, and you can't join.

It doesn't discriminate on the basis of color or breeding, but applicants are vetted nonetheless.

And one other thing: Like Chuck, you have to be a dog to belong.

Welcome to Doggy Indulgence, home of the Delmarva Peninsula's only dog spa with a full-size, jet-powered, heated indoor swimming pool.

And don't forget the special blow dryers, aromatherapy and de-skunking services.

The spa, improbably located in western Kent County, boasts that it is "like a country club for your dog."

The phrase is trademarked, by the way.

"This industry is really going from a dog wash on the side of the road to a professional operation," said Pat Tonielli, groomer and proprietor.

Tonielli was trained in psychology and had long worked in that field, most recently in Holyoke, Mass. But she was a dog enthusiast and trainer as well, and she finally decided to follow her heart.

"I said, 'See you later, mental hospital,' " Tonielli said.

Tonielli found Willow Grove, which is west of Woodside, through her acquaintanceship with a Delaware state trooper, also a dog trainer.

Tonielli worked with other dog salons in the region -- but not locally, so as not to offend a business owner by developing a clientele and then taking it with her when she struck out on her own.

It took Tonielli two years to transform a house in Willow Grove into Doggy Indulgence, acting as designer, construction supervisor and general contractor.

At first, her plans for a 20-foot-by-8-foot, 4 1/2-foot-deep heated indoor swimming pool for dogs raised a few eyebrows.

People told her, "Girl, you're crazy," she said.

But today the pool is a reality. Which brings us back to Chuck.

Chuck is a 10 1/2-year-old chocolate Labrador retriever, a friendly dog with chronic back problems and diabetes. Chuck's owner, Bob Marshall, lives in Lewes and loves his dog as only another dog owner can understand.

Marshall drives his old friend to Wilmington Animal Hospital every week for acupuncture, takes him to the chiropractor and personally injects Chuck twice a day with insulin. When Marshall heard about Doggy Indulgence, he figured a heated pool might be just the ticket for Chuck's bad back.

After Chuck's first swim, Marshall was hooked. The dog was walking better and apparently feeling better as well.

The duo came back for a second session -- owners aren't allowed in the pool, only dogs and Tonielli -- and Marshall said he thinks the swims will help.

Tonielli donned a wet suit, fastened a life jacket on Chuck and led him into the pool. Soon the Lab was swimming with the powerful, sure strokes that distinguish his water-loving breed. And his back legs were moving well, which cheered both Marshall and Tonielli.

Doggy Indulgence is careful not to characterize these swims as "treatments," because it is not a veterinary facility. Dogs with medical conditions must have a vet's written approval to swim, and all owners are encouraged to have their dogs' cardiovascular health evaluated before bringing them in.

Doggy Indulgence only opened its doors Oct. 3, so the business is just getting started. But Tonielli said she is confident there is a market for her services.

(See the article on the website.)

Lap-dogs of Luxury

Pools, pawdicures, de-skunking among services offered by boutique

(by Abby Schmidt)

Chuck is only 10 1/2 years old, but a nasty fall while chasing a squirrel in January injured his leg. The medication he was prescribed led to a diabetes and pancreatic and a recent MRI showed he was having trouble walking because of two disintegrated disks in his spine.

But things are looking up for Chuck. in the past three weeks, he's walking better thanks to his new once-a-week half-hour swimming sessions. It was hard for him to find an indoor pool that allowed him to swim, though -- Chuck is a dog.

Chuck, a big, friendly chocolate Lab, is one of the first dogs to benefit from the heated indoor pool, the first of its kind on Delmarva for dogs, at Doggy Indulgence, a new full-service grooming and specialty boutique.

Pat Tonielli, the owner and groomer, had already decided to open the grooming salon when she realized there wasn't an indoor swimming pool for dogs in the area. Having worked in numerous other salons on the western shore as a groomer, including the only other one in Maryland that had a pool, she figured now was as good a time as any to bring the indoor heated swimming experience to Delmarva's dogs.

Tonielli, a former psychiatric clinician and fund-raiser for a college, moved here from Philadelphia in 2000.

"I started noticing all the development in this area, all the people moving here from Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Philadelphia," she said. "They move here expecting the same services to be available."

Tonielli said the process to get the pool up and running was extensive, including finding a builder to design the new building to include the dog pool and an engineer to design the heating and cooling system who didn't think she was crazy when she told the what she was doing.

Tonielli wanted the salon to have a nautical feeling, so she painted the wall ocean blue and treated the cement floors to make them look like beach sand. the lobby features a full line of the products any pampered dog needs, including aromatherapy shampoos and spray mists, scented candles, vitamin and calcium supplements, premium dog food and gourmet dog pastries, including cannolis and pecan rolls that look so good in their display case that office manager Connie Strouse has to stop herself from taking a bite out of one. "I pass by there and think, 'No, those are for the dogs," Strouse laughed.

The salon offers a range of services, including pawdicures, teeth brushing, flea and tick treatments, de-shedding and de-skunking and, starting in the spring, obedience classes, but it's the spa that elicits the most interest, Tonielli said.

The spa is actually a 4 1/2 foot-deep indoor exercise pool, like the ones used by Olympic swimmers to train year-round, that uses adjustable jets to create a current -- like a swimmer's treadmill. The water is kept at an inviting 82-degrees, the humidity is controlled and a UV light and filter keep the water clean while using 70 percent less chlorine, so the thick, steamy atmosphere hanging around most indoor pools isn't there.

Tonielli dons a wet suit and swims with dogs who might need assistance and dogs swimming for the first time who might panic in the strange, clear, bubbly water. Not all the dogs who swim do it to help old joints move better.

"I have a six-month-old puppy that just shoots right in and has a great time," Tonielli said.

Tonielli isn't a veterinarian, so she can't use the word "therapy" to describe how the dogs benefit from swimming, but it's easy to see why she said the dogs enjoy the fun and exercise when Chuck gets in the water.

Outfitted with a neon green life jacket, Chuck needs a little encouragement to get in the water, but once he's in, he never stops kicking all four feet as he doggy paddles against the slow current.

Chuck's owner, Bob Marshall, doesn't mind making the drive from Lewes, Del., because of the remarkable improvements he said he's seen in Chuck in just a few sessions.

"He was more energetic the night after his first session than he'd been in a long time," Marshall said. "He was ready to go walk around the block."

Marshall said Chuck gets acupuncture at a chiropractor in Wilmington every week, but the vets all told him to get him swimming. the low-impact exercise improves his flexibility without being hard on his joints.

"We live on the Deleware Bay, but he can't swim in there in the fall and winter, and when he did in the summer, he got ear infections," Marshall said. "When I saw the ad in the paper for the salon here, I said 'This is it.'"

Tonielli said she's not sure why people are increasingly pampering their pets, but Marshall said Chuck, who happily serves as a big pillow for Marshall's young grand kids, has earned it.

" He's a part of the family," Marshall said. "He was there for me when I was having health problems, and when he started having his own, my wife and I decided to do everything we could to keep him going."

The salon is just 20 minutes from Denton and even closer from other parts of the county. It is open Tuesday through Saturday and visits are by appointment only.

(This same article appeared in both the Sunday Star page D1 October 29, 2006 and in the Caroline County Times-Record page A16, October 25, 2006)

GROOMING SALON FOR DOGS OPENS

Doggy Indulgence, the Delmarva peninsula's first full-service grooming salon and dog spa, seeks to capture the attention of dog owners throughout the region with its unique environment for dogs.

"It's like a country club for your dog," said Pat Tonielli, proprietor and groomer.

Doggy Indulgence, off Del. 10, five miles west of Camden in Willow Grove, boasts an 8-by-20-foot indoor, heated and jet-current pool for dogs. Staff profice "assisted swims" for dogs to help them get the most out of their visit, whether the goal is conditioning, weight loss, water training or exercise.

Ms. Tonielli designed the 1,200-foot facility to be energy efficient, functional and attractive for both dogs and owners. Each function -- bathing, drying, grooming, swimming and shopping -- has its own dedicated space.

Built from an existing three story metal building, the salon and dog spa is ready to welcome new customers for the fall season.

(page 28, State New Sunday, September 24, 2006)