Tye, a 14-year-old Brittany Spaniel owned by Pattie Imm, from of all places, the Dogtown area of Ford City, was nervous.

The dog groomer was outside in the mobile pet grooming salon and the idea of having his toenails trimmed, ears cleaned and a bath right there on the spot had him shaking a little.

"He always gets nervous," Imm said of her dog's grooming. "But he's doing great with this. He's not trying to jump off the table and run to me. It's looking good for him."

"I have a bad back and arthritis so something like this is good for me," she said." Now I don't have to take him in and out of the house and in and out of the car to get him groomed at the groomer's. I think this is a wonderful idea."

For pet owners in the area like Imm, they can now have the pet groomer come to them thanks to a new business, the only one of its kind in Armstrong County, owned and operated by Christina Ruebel of Gilpin, called Tender Care Grooming.

Ruebel said her mobile business helps busy families give their pets the grooming attention they deserve in the comfort of a customized pet salon built into her van without them having to go to the groomer.

"I'm equipped to do everything," said Ruebel. "I have a table, generator-heated dryer, hot and cold running water and a super suds (machine) built into the van. I have all the most modern equipment to keep them safe and in place."

"The job isn't for everybody," she added. "It's dirty job. You eat a lot of dog hair, especially when you get the dryer going. You don't open your mouth or all that hair just gets you. There's the occasional pooing in the tub, finding it in your pocket and dog or cat bite too, but I still love it."

Ruebel, 51, has only been active at her business for about three weeks.

She's come a long way since she lost her factory job of 30 years at Kensington Windows in Parks one year ago and wondered what she would do next.

It didn't take Ruebel long to figure out that she loved dogs and cats, she didn't think she could find other employment and she wanted her own business.

"Throw that all together and here I am," she said.

The success of owning her own business didn't come easy. It took a lot of hard work, overcoming obstacles and some help from others.

"When I was young I had speech therapy and reading labs in school," said Ruebel. "So I contacted (the state's) Occupational Vocation Rehabilitation (OVR) office. I said I think I have a learning disability and I've lost my job."

"I was afraid that would hinder me in trying to get an education for another job," she said.

Ruebel met with OVR officials. They tested her and confirmed her disability and told her they would be able to help retrain her to get back into the workforce.

Ruebel looked at several fields and took placement tests for schooling.

"It would have taken me at least two years to get any kind of a degree," she said. "I'm 51 years old, I don't have two years."

"Then I figured out what I most wanted to do, after my brother, who lives in Ohio, saw someone doing mobile pet grooming and kept telling me that's what I should do."

OVR said OK to Ruebel's choice of a dog grooming career and paid half of the tuition for her to attend the Pennsylvania Dog Grooming Academy in Indiana, Pennsylvania, for four months. Ruebel's long-time, live-together boyfriend paid the other half.

While Ruebel was attending the school, she decided to look further into a mobile service.

"No one else around here was doing that," she said.

With the help of the Small Business Association (SBA) she wrote a business plan for that and was able to get a bank loan with S&T Bank to purchase the fully-equipped Ford van.

Kensington Window eventually called her back, but it was too late, she had already started the school and had decided to be in business for herself.

"There's nothing I would rather be doing than this," Ruebel said. "It's so much better working for yourself, around the pets I love, than being in a factory."

About the service

What: The pet groomer comes to you

Who: Tender Care Grooming mobile pet grooming salon

Contact for appointment: Owner Christina Ruebel at 724-664-0640

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