Doggone Pandemic Threatened Operations of Grooming Business

Park Cities Pet Salon can continue grooming and styling local pets thanks in part to the generosity of an animal and people-loving client.

By order of Dallas County to help slow the spread of COVID-19, pet grooming services have been allowed only as necessary for the health and well-being of the animals, and, like many businesses during this time, Park Cities Pet Salon owner Karen Clements said her salon was reeling from the economic impact.

The salon at 10455 North Central Expressway has three employees and has been serving pet owners of the Park Cities, Preston Hollow, and Uptown since 2000, according to parkcitiespetsalon.com. Grooming services are available for cats as well as dogs.

Clements said a longtime client offered to provide her the money to pay the April rent and payroll for her business after a discussion about the state of the salon during the pandemic.

“I was stunned. It was very generous. He’s been a very good client for a number of years.” -Karen Clements

“I said I wasn’t sure (about being able to pay) rent for April. He said, ‘You can pay me back.’ I was stunned,” Clements said. “It was very generous. He’s been a very good client for a number of years.”

Clements added that the donor wanted to remain anonymous.

“I’d always loved dogs…this is what I always wanted to do,” Clements said. “We have wonderful clients. Their dogs are all good dogs.”

Park Cities Pet Salon isn’t the only local business that’s found ways to continue paying employees with the community’s help.

Similarly, as we previously reported, donations from members of Highland Park United Methodist Church supported workers from Preston Hollow Catering’s efforts to make lunches for shelters, including Austin Street, Stewpot, Genesis, and Wesley Rankin after many of its usual events were canceled because of the novel coronavirus.

Other local businesses pivoted their business models. For example, Nardos Design at the Plaza at Preston Center, began making masks and used Go-FundMe to help offset costs during the pandemic.


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Rachel Snyder

Rachel Snyder, former deputy editor at People Newspapers, joined the staff in 2019, returning to her native Dallas-Fort Worth after starting her career at community newspapers in Oklahoma. One of her stories won first place in its category in the Oklahoma Press Association’s Better Newspaper Contest in 2018. She’s a fan of puns and community journalism, not necessarily in that order.

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