An Island Park woman’s life has gone to the dogs — and the cats — thanks to her Paw Spaw pet grooming business.

Becki Hoekstra runs the successful business at 3413 N. U.S. Highway 20.

“I’ll do five to seven dogs a day, 25 a week,” she said. “In the summertime, it’s 10 to 13 dogs a day depending on the size of them.”

Grooming begins with a bath that includes Hoekstra checking the dog’s skin for allergies and extra greasy hair. From there, she decides on the right type of shampoo and conditioner for the pooch.

“It seems super upfront and simple, but there’s more to it than just washing a dog,” she said. “It’s sweaty, it’s hairy, it’s hard, and your back hurts. It needs to be done right; otherwise, the dog won’t look good and the haircut won’t look good.”

From there, Hoekstra blow-dries the dog’s hair and styles it however the owner wants it done.

“It really depends on the owner’s lifestyle,” Hoekstra said.

It’s not unusual for Hoekstra to groom working dogs like pointers and golden retrievers.

“The longer haired dogs have to have some taken off so they don’t get not fun things stuck to them,” she said.

It can take up to several hours to bathe and groom a pooch, Hoekstra said.

“I have two Newfoundland dogs where one is a female at 150 (pounds) and the male is 180. It took me roughly nine hours. That’s a lot of dog,” she said.

While grooming cats, Hoekstra has noticed that some aging felines struggle to self-clean. As a result, some cats come in with matted hair, meaning Hoekstra has to give them a bath. She finds some of the felines are easier to deal with than others.

“Whenever anyone asks me how I groom a cat, my general answer is ‘very carefully,’” she said.

Hoekstra grooms between five to 10 cats a month. The majority of felines are easy to work with, she said.

“Most of them I’ve had are very cooperative. I’ve had a couple that have had some moments,” she said.

Business has proven good — so much so that Hoekstra has hired someone to bathe the dogs. She’s also planning to expand her services to doggy day care.

“That’s something I’ll have fully up and running by the time the snow gets here,” Hoekstra said.

Hoekstra started her grooming business about three years ago after she and her husband, Brett, moved to Island Park from San Diego to be close to family and to escape the exhausting lifestyle of all work and no play. The couple are the parents of Skylar, 7, and Kellin, 1.

“Everything about my business and my grooming career has just happened by chance,” Hoekstra said. “The stars aligned, and everything worked out in the best possible way to (get to) where I’m here now.”

While living in San Diego, Hoekstra started her grooming career as a dog bather when struggling to find employment in a tight job market.

“I love dogs. I grew up with dogs. I thought, ‘It will be a good opportunity to do something,’” she said. “It ended up being something I ended up loving to do, and I went to groom school.”

After arriving in Island Park, she quickly realized that there were no local dog groomers and opted to open her Paw Spaw.

Running her own business gave Hoekstra the flexibility she needed while raising her children, who often visit the shop.

Business has been brisk, and customers have come from all over the Upper Valley to have their dogs groomed.

“I have people who have cabins up here, and they come to me every month for doggy baths or grooms,” Hoekstra said. “I’ve had people come from California, Nevada, Georgia and Utah — from all over the country.”

Anyone wanting to start their own business should create one that they have a passion for, Hoekstra said.

“Love what you do,” she said. “I had so many people try to tell me for whatever reason that it wouldn’t work when I wanted to open it. I just kind of went for it, and it happened."

Island Park residents greeted her with open arms, Hoekstra said.

“Everybody who lives here said, ‘Great idea. We’ve never had anything like this up here,’” she said.

Hoekstra said it does take time, effort and determination to get a business up and running.

“I spent a lot of hours in the very beginning when I opened in December,” she said. “It was probably the worst time of the year. It was very cold, and there weren’t that many people. I spent a lot of hours in the shop trying to figure out ways to make it work that first winter.”

Thanks to that perseverance, Hoekstra’s business has grown every year.

“If you keep working on something, it will work,” she said.

For more information on Hoekstra’s business, call 208-558-7278 or visit facebook.com/islandparkpawspaw.