WHALEYVILLE – When customers arrive at 11426 Bell Road, the first structure they see is a stately home with two-story columns and expansive grounds.
Yet, past the home and winding driveway lies a building that has quite literally gone to the dogs.
Mike and Cindy Fultz, owners of the successful mobile grooming business Going to the Dogs, now has the dogs coming to them.
The owners said the decision to establish a permanent location was based on family.
When Cindy Fultz’s mother died in 2014, her family decided to list her parents’ home for sale.
But after one church service, the for-sale sign came down.
“We went to church one day, and the message was exactly what I needed to hear,” she said. “If you think you are in a place you shouldn’t be, maybe God has actually put you where you need to be.”
But with her father’s failing health, she said their business needed to be closer to the house.
“We just couldn’t be on the road anymore,” Cindy Fultz said. “An ambulance would come to the house almost every other day.”
Now, she and her husband have since sold their grooming vans in return for a permanent business on the home’s 13-acre lot.
Located in Whaleyville, Md., Going to the Dogs is accessible to customers located in Salisbury and Ocean City and includes a large grooming site, fenced-in yard and nearly 10 kennels.
Since late August, the owners have opened their doors to new and returning customers in hopes of giving the same individualized care they received with their mobile service.
“We do grooming by appointments,” Mike Fultz said. “We are going to continue giving one-on-one attention to the dogs.”
Yet, some things about their business have changed drastically.
Although they no longer offer mobile grooming, Mike and Cindy Fultz now offer a dog day care and additional grooming services for dogs of all sizes.
In doing so, the owners have made it their mission to give the dogs space to roam during their visits.
“We aren’t like other businesses because we do not cage the dogs,” Cindy Fultz said. “We give them an area to play.”
The new location is still a work in progress for the couple, but the owners said they are planning to add a walking path through the field behind the house, larger running areas for the dogs, and a website for customers.
“We will continue to progress,” Cindy Fultz said. “We aren’t finished yet.”
Cindy Fultz, who has been a trained groomer since the 1980s, said she takes her lead from the evolving industry.
“The cuts, styles and shampoos are better,” she said. “People care more about pet health and safety than they did in the 80s.”
Before opening her own business, Fultz worked as a groomer at a pet store in the Montego Bay Shopping Center in Ocean City.
“I use to work in the back of the store,” she said. “We then started out with one truck and we eventually worked our way to three trucks.”
Without the mobile advertising, the owners said they now have to learn social media practices and build a website. But Fultz said she is trying to learn Facebook and Google Plus, where you can find their business.
Grooming prices start at $55 and increase depending on the size of the dog. Daycare services begin at $25.
Going to the Dogs is open from 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1-5 p.m. Sunday.
For additional information, call 410-629-0153, email [email protected], or visit the Going to the Dogs Facebook page.
