BY JANE MEGGITT
Staff Writer
PHOTOSBY JEFF GRANIT staff Above, Jane Gallagher cleans the ears of Vader; at left, she uses a high velocity warm air dryer to fluff Buzzy dry after his bath. MILLSTONE — Jane Gallagher didn’t get a dog of her own until she was 35 years old, but she has certainly been making up for lost time.
She found her calling later in life and today operates Angels in Fur, a full-service grooming salon and “doggie day care” center located on her Carrs Tavern Road property.
A few years after getting her first dog, a shih tzu, Gallagher started taking classes to learn grooming. Now 44, Gallagher said she did not like traditional, high-volume grooming situations, where a dog is dropped off in the morning and picked up in the evening.
In her own business, she limits herself to six dogs per day, giving them what she calls “an intensive grooming.” While she grooms all breeds, her specialty is the bichon frise.
Gallagher, who attended the Nash Academy for Advanced Grooming Techniques in Fairview, is planning to get her master groomer certification. She said she has learned to groom dogs to the standards set at top dog shows, such as the Westminster Kennel Club Show in New York City.
Last year, Gallagher redesigned her husband’s old backyard batting cage to house her grooming facility. Her husband, Dave, is a former major league baseball player who now runs the baseball academy at Frogbridge Day Camp in Millstone.
The interior is light and airy, with wooden paneling.
“My goal was to have it feel like a Bucks County [Pa.] Inn — [to have] a warm, embracing feeling,” she said.
Gallagher considers her grooming operation a state-of-the-art facility. She has an automatic bathing system, which surges out shampoo and water like a massage.
Above (l-r), Jane Gallagher plays with Beanie in a play area inside her grooming facility; Gallagher brushes and grooms Bob on a hydraulic table, which is equipped with a cable support. “It’s comforting to the dog,” she explained.
She also plans to install a hydraulic tub that raises up from the floor so that dogs no longer have to be lifted into the tub in order to be bathed.
Gallagher said she uses a ClipperVac, which sucks up hair from the dog without causing clipper burn.
“It’s a hygienically sound machine that puts out a superior groom,” she said.
In addition, there is a hydraulic grooming table with a cable support system for dogs that are handicapped or physically impaired. No clients are “cage-dried,” which is a process similar to people being placed under a salon hair dryer. Gallagher claims that cage drying can be dangerous, as dogs can overheat and become dehydrated. All the shampoos used at Angels in Fur are hypoallergenic and naturally based. Gallagher said the dogs are treated as if they are out for a “stress-free” day at a spa. She generally spends about two hours working on each animal, whose owner is welcome to stay and watch while all procedures are being done.
Rates depend on the breed of dog and on the services being provided. Gallagher said her clientele understands that some dogs are higher maintenance and may therefore require more time to groom in order to achieve a beautiful, polished look.
She said she has seen a change in what is desired in a grooming. People now want their dogs to look like “a refined piece of art,” she said.
“You need to be creative, and know what to use,” she added.
Although Gallagher may have been a late bloomer, she definitely feels she has blossomed.
“It’s fun,” she said. “Fun for the dogs, fun for me.
“A good day for me is being surrounded by dogs,” she continued. “There’s nothing in the world I’d rather do.”
For more information, call Angels in Fur at (609) 259-7588.