WO R K > S H O W
D O G S
Puppy loving Wagging tails are all part of the service for Show Dogs New Zealand, whose staff are as chipper as their customers. WO R DS M O N I Q U E BALVE RT- O ’CO N N O R / PH OTOS SA LI N A GA LVA N
B
ad days are far from the norm at Kim Wilkinson’s workplace. Walk in, see the clientele, and you can’t help but smile, she says. Kim’s the business manager at Show Dogs New Zealand, where the clients are mainly man’s best friend. Headed by her daughter Aimee Foster and salon manager Flávio Fernandes, it’s a company that’s enjoyed a few changes of late, the most significant being an expansion of its Mount-based operation to include premises in Tauranga. Since early March, Show Dogs has been operating from the Paws and Play building in Maleme Street, Greerton as well as Tawa Street, Mt Maunganui. Kim says taking their services to that part of town made sense, as many of their clients live in Greerton and Tauriko. 50 | u n o m a g a z i n e . c o . n z
In the past, they also had a doggy daycare, but today they focus solely on grooming, with both locations providing dog, cat and rabbit services with multiaward-winning master groomers. Other changes include the introduction of a top-notch blade-and-scissors-sharpening service by specialist sharpener Michel Ikeda from kattoshop.com.br, which services not only dog groomers, but the equine industry, hairdressers and chefs. You’d be hard pressed to find a better groomer in New Zealand than Flávio. The master groomer has 33 years of experience and is a pioneer in the industry. He frequently judges grooming competitions globally and is known as ‘the maestro’ in Brazil, where he groomed late racing driver Ayrton Senna’s dogs. As well as being an outstanding all-rounder, Flávio’s speciality is terriers – he can groom a Westie like no other. He’s also New Zealand’s representative for a line
