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Pooches get prettied up at Pink Poodle Boutique

Salon owner wants clients to feel pampered

Sarah Risner, owner of the Pink Poodle Boutique, plays with Lyla, her 11 month-old standard poodle, at her shop on Central Avenue in Middletown, Ohio Thursday May 14, 2009. Staff photo by Pat Auckerman

PAT AUCKERMAN/MBR Sarah Risner, owner of the Pink Poodle Boutique, plays with Lyla, her 11 month-old standard poodle, at her shop on Central Avenue in Middletown, Ohio Thursday May 14, 2009. Staff photo by Pat Auckerman

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By Jessica Heffner, Staff Writer Updated 11:23 AM Monday, June 1, 2009

MIDDLETOWN — When she steps out of the downtown boutique, everybody stares.

Her hair has been cut, combed, fluffed, styled and dyed to perfection. Her pedicure gleams with hot pink polish. As she struts her stuff down the street, she’s not impervious to cat calls, but the most startling may be the men riding by on Harleys who take the time to shout, “Hey, that’s a pretty dog!”

Sarah Risner’s perfectly pampered poodle, Lyla, was the inspiration for the resident’s new downtown animal grooming salon, Pink Poodle Boutique.

The 11-month old pooch serves as both advertisement and inspiration to customers with her sculpted haircut, pink fur and friendly demeanor.

“She definitely gets people’s  attention,” Risner said.

An animal lover since she was small, Risner, 30, said after 11 years as a dog groomer she was ready to go into business for herself. She wanted to open a salon that would make owners and their animals feel pampered. Offering everything from grooming, nail trims, painting, fur dyes and flea baths to products and accessories such as dog jewelry, clothing and homemade doggie treats, the boutique boasts a selection and atmosphere at the same level as its human counterpart salons.

“I want the dogs to feel at home here,” she said. “I have customers who travel from all over. They’re happy when they come, and they’re happy when they go, and the owners know they are getting far more than just a quality cut.”

Pink Poodle also is an avenue  Risner is using to help out in the community. Already, she offers free grooming services to the animals taken to the Society for the Improvement of Conditions for Stray Animals shelter in Kettering because “the animals just need it and will get adopted much faster if they get it done.”

She’s also in the process of hosting a pet adoption day in August through Animal Friends Humane Society in Trenton.

Pink Poodle is located at 1601 Central Ave., Middletown. For more information, call (513) 424-7297 or visit pinkpoodleboutique.org .

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