Some people might not notice the shop. It's a little hole-in-the-wall store on 13th Avenue with a modest sign hanging above the door.
But once you get inside, customers are overwhelmed by the sounds of dogs and cats living their lives.
Michelle Whitehead, 37, is the owner of Doggie Do's, a dog-grooming business she founded in October 2006. She grew up in North Battleford and it was no surprise that she eventually ended up working with animals.
"I think I've always known that I wanted to do something with animals," she says. "I've grown up with them. We used to show when I was little. I've had horses and shown them."
Whitehead helped her mother show dogs. While her mom would take care of the grooming, Whitehead handled the dogs in the ring. This is where she learned some of her grooming techniques when taking care of two southern terriers. Her family bred them as well.
After graduating from North Battleford Comprehensive High School, Whitehead "toured around" some of Alberta.
"I didn't know what I wanted to do. I moved from high school up to Calgary, worked for a boarding kennel for a few years. Then I moved up to Edmonton and worked at a kennel there for a while."
Her travels led her to the Saskatoon Business College where she took veterinary assistant office course. At first, Whitehead was unsure if she wanted to take the vet tech course or not.
"I decided it was a short course so it would be something fast and get me into a clinic and let me know whether or not that's what I wanted to pursue."
Upon graduation from the program, Whitehead ended up back in Alberta to work in a veterinary clinic. She didn't move back to North Battleford until 2006. However, coming back to the Battlefords wasn't planned.
"My parents had a boarding kennel that they opened out in Cochin that I came back and helped them with. So I was doing a bit of grooming with them out there."
While working with her parents, Whitehead decided that grooming dogs was something she wanted to pursue full-time as she was splitting time between the kennel and working for the health district. Once she opened her own business, she was worried that nobody was going to come. However, clients showed up to use her services.
"I think I've really enjoyed my clients and that they've been so helpful and welcoming and so supportive of everything. Without them, my business wouldn't survive. It's just that type of business that I need my clients. It didn't take very long for my clientele to build up enough."
The client base has continued to build. Dealing with a variety of dogs keeps her going, but her business has also grown alongside puppies that have been clients since the beginning.
"I've got ones that I started off [when] they started coming to me as puppies. Now, they're getting into seniors and it's kind of nice to have that relationship with them."
Aside from Doggie Do's, Whitehead has started teaching obedience classes again. After a couple of years off teaching, she started classes again last fall. So far, the response to the classes has been "pretty good." She has had students come back and learn more, advancing to higher levels. The levels begin with teaching students the basics - sit, stay and down are amongst the commands.
"It's nice to see the progression. Even the ones that have taken a class and they haven't taken another one, but I see them through the shop and I can tell the owners' still keeping up with what we started."
To become a groomer and a trainer, there are now schools that can give certification. Whitehead says she learned more from other groomers and obedience instructors who have been working for a long time.
Whitehead wants to continue to do classes as the Canadian Kennel Club has opened up their performance events to mixed-breed dogs, instead of being exclusively for pure-bred dogs. She is hoping she can encourage attendees of her classes to enter into the world of showing dogs.
"If I see someone that seems to have a dog that's really keen and is a really good worker for them, especially now that they've opened it up, I'll kind of talk to them about it and say this is an option for you if you want to take it further than just playing in your yard."
She says she invites potential dog owners who are interested in showing to attend the dog show held in Battleford in April.
Whitehead knows what she is talking about when it comes to showing as she has been doing that since she was young. When she made her stop in Calgary after high school, she started showing dogs again exclusively in obedience competitions with a boxer. When she moved to Edmonton, Whitehead added a schnauzer that she also showed in obedience events. She still has dogs that she shows.
"It's kind of an on-going thing."
Over the years of showing, Whitehead has noticed the number of new dog owners attending events has been declining. One factor, she says, is that events can be intimidating to new owners who don't have friends in the show world.
"Depending on who they run into, not everyone is as open to help them with it. And that there is quite a learning curve when you're deciding to show because you're up against professionals that do it for a living."
The learning curve includes proper grooming of their dog and how to handle it in the ring. She says she can tell the new people from experienced ones because the experienced ones know how to move their dogs properly.
Whitehead also says costs are a deterrent to bringing new people in to show dogs.
"It's an expensive hobby. You'll never recoup what you put into it. We're all chasing ribbons. There's really no money in it or anything like that. You gotta love it in order to stick with it."
However, once you get into the world of showing, the people become more accepting. Since there are few new people getting into the world, Whitehead says many of the faces are the same.
"It's kind of nice. You've got those friendships you had back when you were younger and you come back into it and you just kind of renew those friendships."
The dynamics of the show world have changed since Whitehead first started showing dogs. She says some people are sticking together with their own breeds now, where the shows used to be more of a social event.
"I think it's just kind of the way it's gone because of the cost. It's been a lot more competitive than what it used to be."
When a client walks into Doggie Do's, photos and ribbons from competitions fill the wall on the left and the corkboard behind the counter. Of all the competitions that she has won, Whitehead points to a green ribbon for Best Veteran in Show as her favourite and most meaningful.
"It was a specialty for just working and herding dogs and I had my old boxer in it, Kiara."
When asked why it was so special, Whitehead pauses and searches for the right words to use.
"She was just a real important dog to me," Whitehead says, fighting back tears. "She was my first show boxer and as she got older, she had a few health problems. So that was one of her last shows"
Whitehead adds, "She was always so happy to show and that's part of the reason we won it. The judge could see how much she enjoyed showing."
Even though Kiara suffered from arthritis the judges were able "to see her for the wonderful dog that I always knew she was."
"So, it was the best win that she'd ever done. And after that, I lost her a couple of years later."
Now, Whitehead has a little terrier that she says loves to show in obedience. When she's competing, her tail doesn't stop moving. However, if they do the more serious conformation events, she doesn't enjoy it.
"Her tail isn't up and she just doesn't have the perk and the bounce in her step that she has when we do obedience."
But, as said before, the competitions don't pay the bills. Her business has been growing since she opened the doors in 2006. Recently, Whitehead was able to hire a second staff member for the shop. Previously it was only Whitehead working at Doggie Do's.
Also in the shop, Whitehead continues to explore new services for grooming to expand options for her clients. Some things she is considering are colouring, feather extensions and nail polish.
Whitehead says the new employee has been working out well so far. Now, she can pass on her knowledge of grooming like the people who have influenced her.
