

The Best Doggie And Kittie Grooming In Town
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Agnes Winarti , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Tue, 06/17/2008 10:05 AM | City
True canine lovers usually regard their pet dogs as part of the family. Some even treat them like their own children.
Dog lover Bathsheba "Betsy" Yuligita Sudarmo recalled the day she found bruises around her dog's eyes.
"When I found the bruises, my dog had changed his attitude toward me. He used to be friendly but had become fierce," Betsy said.
PAWS FOR EFFECT: Three-year-old golden retriever “Grizzly” has its nails cut by a groomer from Happy Pets grooming before two groomers bathe and blow-dry its fur using the grooming’s custom-built vehicle at the pet owner’s home in Cakung, East Jakarta. (JP/Agnes Winarti)
"My dog started behaving aggressively after it received treatment at a pet salon," she said, while carefully watching two pet groomers bathe her 3-year-old golden retriever Grizzly on the back of a mobile pet salon car.
A vet told her later her dog had been hit during the salon treatment.
"It was a traumatic experience for me," she said.
Since then, Grizzly has had his treatments in a mobile pet salon at Betsy's home, where she can observe the whole process.
"I don't have to take my car to the salon. It saves me time," Betsy said, adding she used to queue and wait at the pet salon for some three hours.
Veterinarian Maria Theresia Widiastuti said some dog owners have complained that after their dogs had salon baths, they showed changes in behavior, like signs of fear, depression and aggressiveness.
"I never saw any physical bruises, but it is possible those pets received harsh treatment. It is the right of the owner to ask the salon to be transparent about their treatments," said the veterinarian, who has been practicing for eight years in East Jakarta.
A dog lover since childhood, Henny M. Pangadjaja said a similar experience motivated her to establish Happy Pets, a mobile pet salon for cats and dogs, in 2003.
"As a dog lover, I consider my dogs like my own children. So, I don't want anyone beating them," said Henny, who saw her poodles being harshly treated by groomers at her home.
"When I saw my poodle was being hit by the groomer in front of me in my own home, I wondered what they did when I wasn't around," she said.
Henny said she learned about the commitment needed to look after pets from her mother, who once owned more than 20 dogs at the same time that ran around freely in their home.
"They followed her from the kitchen to the bathroom," said Henny, who now owns nine dogs, including poodles, a golden retriever and a Yorkshire.
Henny said she took various pet grooming courses in Singapore to learn how to take care of her poodles.
"Many of my relatives and friends who asked me to help groom their dogs urged me to create my own pet salon," said the 38-year-old at her home office in Lippo Karawaci, Tangerang.
(JP/Agnes Winarti)
The salon has been through a few name changes; from Beauty Pets, to Chicko Pets (named after one of her poodles) to today's Happy Pets.
Henny currently employs some 30 groomers and administration employees for the salon, which operates with two cars for exclusive treatments and 10 motorcycles for standard treatments.
The Happy Pets mobile salons operate throughout Greater Jakarta by appointment from Monday to Saturday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Sundays with one week's notice.
The salon currently has about 2,400 customers, including homemakers, young professionals, celebrities, public officials, pet shops and pet-breeding ranches.
"I never thought this hobby of mine would become a business with so many customers," she said, adding some 30 percent of her customers were cat owners and the rest dog owners.
Some of her customers even call her in the middle of the night to seek advice in emergency situations, like dog fights or illnesses.
"I have to repeatedly tell them that I am not a vet," she said.
Henny, however, said many people in Jakarta still consider pet grooming a luxury, not a necessity.
She said most complaints made were concerning prices. Happy Pets standard treatments range from Rp 60,000 (US$6.40) to Rp 100,000, while exclusive treatments range from Rp 150,000 to Rp 200,000, depending on the size of the pet.
Eighty to 90 percent of the equipment and treatment materials are imported from the United States, she said.
LIL' SCRUB: Happy Pets groomers also travel by motorcycle to customers' homes to bathe their dogs. (JP/Agnes Winarti)
However, pet lovers like Betsy do not mind the costs.
"A home treatment for my Grizzly costs Rp 185,000. It is about three times more expensive than the usual pet salon," she said. She usually calls the home pet salon once a month.
Betsy's husband, Hanny Santoso, said he preferred having his dog treated at home because he wanted to avoid transmittable diseases from unhealthy dogs.
"Other pet salons are usually also shelters for pets on sale, so there is no guarantee all the dogs there are healthy," he said.
Henny said, "People should realize that a healthy dog makes its owner healthy. There is a kind of mutual health between pets and their owners."
She said most long-fur dogs, like golden retrievers, which are prone to skin diseases, should have a bath once every two weeks.
Henny also suggested long-fur dogs have their fur combed once every two days to avoid tangles that might trigger skin diseases.
"I do not recommend bathing the pet when it is sick. It should be taken to a vet first," she said.
Henny also said when treating a dog, one must pay attention to its psychological nature, as every dog has different character.
Melayani dengan hati-hati karena anjing bak anak kesayangan bagi pemiliknya.
Awalnya, Samuel tak bisa diam. Kaki-kakinya terus digerakkan, sedangkan matanya terus menatap Alex, sahabatnya. Lima belas menit kemudian, setelah dielus dan dipijat, anjing ras Gembala Jerman itu tenang. "Ini untuk memijat," ujar Marmo, pria yang sudah tiga tahun menjadi perawat anjing di salon anjing mobile Happy Pets, yang menangani Samuel.
Ini perawatan kedua buat Sam--panggilan Samuel--dalam dua bulan terakhir. Sebelumnya, Alex, sang pemilik, membawanya ke salon di Kemang, Jakarta Selatan, untuk menjalani perawatan kuku dan bulu Sam.
"Ini lebih praktis," kata Alex. Plus, dia bisa melihat proses perawatan anjing kesayangannya itu. Di Kemang, dia hanya duduk, sementara Sam didandani di dalam sebuah ruangan. "Tahu-tahu sudah rapi," kata dia di rumahnya di bilangan Kuningan, Jakarta Selatan, Kamis lalu.
Kepraktisan memang yang diutamakan Happy Pets, salon milik Henny Pangadjaja. Selain itu, dia ingin memberikan kenyamanan kepada para pemilik anjing dan kucing peliharaan bahwa binatang kesayangan mereka baik-baik saja.
Tak seperti salon anjing di mal atau tempat lain, yang tertutup buat pemiliknya, proses perawatan yang dilakukan salon keliling ini terhadap binatang kesayangan bisa dilihat langsung sang pemilik. "Mereka bisa lihat binatang peliharaan mereka sedang diapain," kata Henny di rumahnya, Tangerang, Banten, Kamis lalu. Berdasarkan pengalaman sendiri, Henny sering merasa waswas saat membawa anjing ke salon.
Menjadi seorang perawat anjing dan kucing bukan hal mudah. Selain harus sabar, para karyawan Henny dibekali teknik memegang anjing dan kucing yang galak. Keahlian dan kesabaran tingkat tinggi memang harus dimiliki karena pemilik yang sayang terhadap peliharaannya akan memperhatikan peliharaannya "dikerjai". Makanya dia tak mau main-main dengan profesinya itu. "Saya anggap saya sedang ngurusin anak orang," katanya sambil tersenyum.
Awalnya, Henny sekadar ingin serius mengurus 24 ekor pudelnya. Pudel-pudelnya harus wangi dan bersih. "Itu syarat dari suami saya kalau mau memelihara anjing. Dia tak suka anjing," katanya sambil tertawa. Makanya, secara total, dua tahun ia habiskan untuk khusus belajar merawat anjing di Singapura. Sesi demi sesi kursus yang memakan waktu satu bulan per sesinya itu dilakoni ibu satu putri ini sejak 2001.
Pada 2002, ketika sudah menguasai banyak ilmu, dia mulai diminta mengurus anjing teman dan kerabatnya. Waktu itu dia belum berpikir menjalankan profesi itu, walau sudah menguasai teknik memotong bulu seratus jenis anjing.
Pada 2003, kala permintaan dari teman sahabatnya melonjak, dia melihat peluang tersebut. Jadilah bisnis itu dengan hanya dua karyawan. Pada tahun itu juga dia mematenkan bisnisnya tersebut di Direktorat Jenderal Hak dan Kekayaan Intelektual Departemen Hukum dan Hak Asasi Manusia.
Tak disangka, dia malah sering diomeli pelanggan karena personelnya yang terlalu sedikit, sedangkan pesanannya banyak. Saat itulah dia menerima karyawan yang kemudian diajarinya selama sebulan mendandani anjing. Kini karyawannya 28 orang, dengan armada dua mobil dan 10 sepeda motor. Semuanya dibekali ilmu menggunakan delapan tingkat pisau untuk memotong bulu anjing dan kucing. Plus menggunakan pemotong kuku yang mirip tang.
Kisah suksesnya berlanjut hingga para pejabat dan selebritas mulai menjadi langganan tetapnya. Sebut saja Alvin Adam, Sophia Latjuba, Artika Sari Devi, dan bekas Kepala Polri Jenderal Da'i Bachtiar. Sampai suatu saat dia diminta para pelanggannya merawat anjing selama sang pemilik pergi. Rumahnya yang mungil di Karawaci tidak cukup menampung banyak anjing. "Saya menyewa rumah, buka hotel buat anjing dan kucing," katanya.
Merawat anjing yang bermacam jenis bulunya, menurut dia, ada seninya tersendiri. Berbeda dengan memegang kepala manusia untuk dicukur rambutnya, saat dipegang orang lain, biasanya anjing meronta. Karena itu, anjing perlu dibujuk pemilik dan orang yang akan mendandaninya. "Paling sulit anjing kecil, ya, suka pecicilan," katanya sambil tergelak. Makanya perlu waktu 90 menit hingga satu jam untuk mendandani hewan-hewan peliharaan.
Jenis anjing yang berbeda pun membuat waktu yang dibutuhkan berbeda. Pudel, Schnauzer, dan Westhighland terrier, katanya, mempunyai tingkat kesulitan lebih daripada yang lain. Golden Retriever, yang biasa dilihat dalam film Beethoven, cuma perlu disisir. Bulu-bulu anjing yang berbadan bongsor itu justru menjadi kelebihannya.
YOPHIANDI
"As a dog lover, I consider my dogs like my own children. So, I don't want anyone beating them," said Henny, who saw her poodles being harshly treated by groomers at her home.
Henny said she took various pet grooming courses in Singapore to learn how to take care of her poodles.
"Many of my relatives and friends who asked me to help groom their dogs urged me to create my own pet salon," said the 38-year-old at her home office in Lippo Karawaci, Tangerang.
Henny currently employs some 30 groomers and administration employees for the salon, which operates with two cars for exclusive treatments and 10 motorcycles for standard treatments.
The Happy Pets mobile salons operate throughout Greater Jakarta by appointment from Monday to Saturday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Sundays with one week's notice.
The salon currently has about 2,400 customers, including homemakers, young professionals, celebrities, public officials, pet shops and pet-breeding ranches.
"I never thought this hobby of mine would become a business with so many customers," she said, adding some 30 percent of her customers were cat owners and the rest dog owners.
Some of her customers even call her in the middle of the night to seek advice in emergency situations, like dog fights or illnesses.
"I have to repeatedly tell them that I am not a vet," she said.
Henny, however, said many people in Jakarta still consider pet grooming a luxury, not a necessity.
She said most complaints made were concerning prices. Happy Pets standard treatments range from Rp 60,000 (US$6.40) to Rp 100,000, while exclusive treatments range from Rp 150,000 to Rp 200,000, depending on the size of the pet.
Eighty to 90 percent of the equipment and treatment materials are imported from the United States, she said.
The Jakarta Post