Doggie spa owner loves to pamper pets

By Victoria Bourne
Correspondent

According to groomer Rebecca Harner, if you're looking to spoil and pamper your canine companion, Preppie Pooch is the place to do it.

"We've tried to make it look like a human day spa," she said.

Harner co-owns the doggie day spa and boutique on Virginia Beach Boulevard with her fiance, John Bernhardt. They opened in September, providing traditional grooming services as well as spa treatments like a whirlpool hydrotherapy bath, full-body mud wraps and brown sugar scrubs, which is one of Harner's favorites. It makes the dogs smell great, she said.

Harner has been grooming in the area for more than a decade. She's worked under other groomers and in other businesses, but came to realize she really wanted to open her own place, she said.

She enjoys being her own boss, she said, but she admitted not long ago that she wouldn't have thought it was possible to be a business owner. She did her homework, seeking guidance from SCORE, a nonprofit partnered with the U.S. Small Business Administration that offers free counseling to small-businesspeople.

"I couldn't have done it without them," Harner said of the mentoring she received prior to opening Preppie Pooch.

Right now they're taking the business day by day, Harner said, but they have big plans for the future. Regardless, she's confident she's where she needs to be professionally, and she enjoys her canine clientele.

"I love coming to work every day," Harner said. "Dogs just make you happy... they keep you in a good mood."

 Preppie Pooch is at 2684 Virginia Beach Blvd. Call 631-5900 or visit www.preppiepooch.com.

 
Q&A with Rebecca Harner

What do you love most about your job?
Playing with all of the dogs

What about your job is least enjoyable?
Paperwork

What inspired you to become a groomer?
I always loved dogs and I saw a help-wanted sign in a pet store looking for a dog bather.

Describe Preppie Pooch clientele in two words
Dog lovers

Which breed of dog is most challenging to groom?
Goldendoodle, because they mat so easily

Favorite grooming gadget
Les Poochs Brush

Favorite movies
"Interview with a Vampire," "Frontière(s)"

The book on your nightstand
"Be the Pack Leader" by Cesar Millan

Pet peeve
When people do not put things back in their place

Hobbies
Cooking, horror movies, yoga

Guilty pleasure
Almond Joy

The TV show you never miss
"Lost"

Of what achievements are you most proud?
Opening Preppie Pooch

Something you've done that others might not expect of you
Sailed down the Intracoastal Waterway from Virginia to Florida

If you could invite three famous people, living or dead, to dinner who would they be?
Cesar Millan, Alton Brown, Bela Lugosi

Favorite sound and why
The ocean, because waves crashing are calming

Least favorite sound and why
Alarm clock, because I like to wake up on my own

Personal motto
If I didn't love it, I wouldn't be doing it.

Which dog breed best illustrates your personality?
Labrador