BY KATHY CHANG
Staff Writer
KATHY CHANG Shari Zarillo, owner of Barkingham Palace, with her 3-year-old pitbull mix, Twiggy. METUCHEN — Shari Zarillo has parlayed her love of dogs into a way to make a living.
“I love coming to work; it doesn’t feel like work, which is the good thing,” said Zarillo. “I’m happy with my decision, and I get to bring my dogs with me, too.
Welcome to Barkingham Palace, Zarillo’s full-service dog grooming salon and boutique at 383 Main St. The shop’s grand opening was last week, but Zarillo has been open for business since July.
Barkingham is not just a place for a bath and a shampoo. Owners can even get their dog’s nails polished here.
“Yesterday, I had a customer come in and she wanted her dog’s nails polished — it was so cute,” she said.
Zarillo freely admits to being obsessed with dogs.
“If I had more room where I live, I would have 20 dogs,” Zarillo said.
She has two — an 8-year-old male miniature fox terrier, Reno, and Twiggy, a 3-year-old female pit-bull mix.
“I rescued Twiggy two years ago,” she said. “She was on death row at a shelter.”
Zarillo also considers Reno rescued because the place where she got him was going to put all the dogs who weren’t sold after Memorial Day to sleep. So she took him home on Memorial Day eight years ago.
Last week, Zarillo talked herself out of getting another dog from a shelter.
“It’s so hard going to the shelter; I want to bring all of them home,” she said.
Zarillo’s previous career was a makeup artist, but she didn’t like the demanding business. She decided to go to the North Jersey School of Grooming and graduated in 2002.
She has worked in the dog-grooming business for four years. She worked at Lauren’s Dog Spa in Rahway until she opened her own place, Barkingham Palace, on July 6.
All dogs are different, she said.
“I hate to say this, but I consider the smaller breeds the worst to handle,” said Zarillo. “They don’t give you warning when they are going to bite; at least the bigger dogs growl before they are going to bite you.”
Zarillo has been bitten plenty of times, but nothing serious where she had to be taken to the hospital.
Barkingham Palace provides grooming services as well as accessories.
“I go out of my way to get accessories that you won’t see anywhere else,” Zarillo said. “Some of the leashes are from Paris and some stuff is from California.”
Barkingham Palace is open Tuesday through Saturday. Zarillo said the hours are very flexible.
“I am here from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., but if someone can only make an appointment at 8 a.m., I’m here at 8 a.m., or if someone wants to make an appointment at 8 p.m., I’m here at 8 p.m.”
For more information, call (732) 321-0222.