South metro dog owners have a new place to pretty up their pets. Fancy Paws Pet Salon, which offers an extensive menu of grooming services for dogs and a few for cats, opened recently at the Lakeville Crossing Shopping Center at 160th Street and Cedar Avenue. Owner Susan Hatch said she's an unabashed animal lover who started grooming dogs at a young age and was inspired to start her business in part by her 9-year-old springer spaniel, Rebel, a brain cancer survivor.
In addition to bathing, trimming and blow-drying, the salon offers ear-cleaning and nail-clipping services. All the grooming is done at the front of the salon so owners can watch. With the owners' permission, pets are rewarded with bows and treats when their grooming is finished.
Pet owners also can arrange to have Hatch's husband, Tim, pick up dogs at their homes and deliver them when they're done.
Hatch said she looked at a few different locations before settling on Lakeville Crossing. She said she likes the central location and also appreciates the understanding of other tenants at the mall. "As you might imagine, it can get kind of loud here sometimes," she said. "But everybody has been very nice."
The business is having its official grand opening Dec. 3-8 with special deals and a raffle for pet grooming and accessories. Hatch said she'll donate a portion of her sales that week and the raffle proceeds to the University of Minnesota's canine brain tumor clinical trials program.
Eagan plant to close
Rheem Manufacturing Co. recently announced plans to close its Eagan facility, Water Heater Innovations, and relocate the operations to a Rheem plant in Montgomery, Ala.
About 40 workers in Eagan will be affected by the closing, which Rheem said will begin early next year and be completed in June.
