Get your pet groomed without leaving the house

Jeanie and Molly have had it with their latest salon.

After Jeanie had her hair done, she wasn’t satisfied with the results; her ear had been nipped, the haircut was uneven and the stylist even left red patches on her skin.

Plus, spending almost all day in the salon is no walk in the park for the mother and daughter.

Now Jeanie and Molly are serviced at home. They just head out the door to the salon in a trailer which waits for them near the curb.

The two schnauzers, and their owners, the Seinekes, prefer the convenience of having groomer Angie Nakajima come to their home in Pharr.

“It’s very convenient,” Martiza Seineke, 27, said. “They feel at home so I think that’s a plus to have them feel safe.”

EcoCARE Grooming, a mobile pet grooming service, is a unique business serving the upper Rio Grande Valley. The business offers pet owners full-service bathing and grooming for their furry family members, including nail trimming and hand drying.

The trailer comes equipped with a full-sized bathtub, air conditioning, a water heater and a whisper-quiet vacuum and dryer.

Nakajima only uses biodegradable and chemical-free shampoos and conditioners. And the animals are bathed using filtered water.

Nakajima has been grooming dogs for more than three years and started the mobile pet grooming service with her husband when they realized there was a need not being fulfilled in the Valley.

“I had a lot of customers come up to me, especially Winter Texans, (asking) if I knew of any mobile grooming around,” Nakajima said.

Finally, it clicked in her head, she said.

Together, Nakajima and her husband developed a business plan and set up their salon-on-wheels late last year.

The Seineke family was already familiar with Nakajima’s work since they’d hired her in the past when she worked for a different salon but this was the first time schnauzers Jeanie and Molly had been catered to at home.

In about two hours, Jeanie and Molly were finished with their appointments and they didn’t have to sit in crates all day. They also didn’t have to deal with the stress of being around dogs they don’t know, Nakajima said.

Kim Garcia adopted two Great Pyrenees, Harley and Minnie, two years ago, and grooming the two large dogs herself can be a challenge. 

“I have two jobs and a family and a lot of responsibilities,” the Mission resident said. “And I hurt my back not too long ago, so doing it myself was out of the question.”

Garcia, a professor at University of Texas-Brownsville and a restaurant owner, has used EcoCARE Grooming before for her pets and she said the extra cost is worth it for the convenience and the quality.

“(Nakajima) does a great job,” she said. “She bonds with the dogs immediately.”

Currently, EcoCARE Grooming is only available in parts of McAllen, Mission and Pharr; however the Nakajimas are considering expanding the business to the lower Valley soon.

“They’ve done great,” Garcia said. “The bath lasted much longer than when I do it myself and (the dogs) are happy and that’s totally worth it.”

Amy Nichol Smith covers features and entertainment for The Monitor. She can be reached at (956) 683-4420.