Clairemont Business Profile: Dunk’N Dogs

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Clairemont's Dog Wash & Groomer

Over eleven years ago, a young single mom named Jeannie was working full time in an office and raising her 3 kids. She had rented a few kiosks in malls and at Old Town to augment her income by selling various items.

These hobby businesses were helping Jeannie afford to buy a home after her divorce and she was excited by the idea of having her own business. One of her kiosks was doing really well selling personalized dog Christmas ornaments and the pet industry was pretty appealing.

A dog lover herself, Jeannie started taking her dog Tyson into a self dog wash shop in South Park. Since there were only 2 of these types of dog wash businesses in San Diego County at the time, Jeannie thought this might be a growing market.

So she closed her kiosks and invested in opening Dunk’N Dogwash in Clairemont in 2004. While continuing at her full time job, she found a space, bought tubs, shampoo and equipment and put the kids to work washing dogs.

Then fate stepped in and Jeannie was laid off from her full time job.

With 3 kids to support, Jeannie summoned all of her courage and threw herself and her future into her dog wash business. Times were tough. Jeannie was not an experienced business owner and had to learn the pet industry on the fly. For the first few years, she and her kids worked every spare minute at the shop trying to build their little business in Clairemont. She almost lost her home and was deeply in debt.

Fortunately, her location was in a pet friendly neighborhood. She learned to clip dog’s nails and what kinds of shampoos are good for dogs with itchy skin.  As her kids grew, so did Dunk’N Dogwash. She found a couple of groomers to work in her shop to do professional grooming services and started selling food and products eventually becoming a well-known service to the community.

Dunk'N Dogs Offers a Wide Variety of Food & Products

Dunk’N Dogwash’s commitment to Clairemont dog owners is reflected in the care they give to clients’ dogs. Jeannie and her family truly love animals and partner with many adoption groups to assist new pet parents with discounts or promotions. Over 10 years later, Dunk’N Dogwash continues to be a family business with many employees not actually related but still working together like family. Dunk’N Dogwash is an active member of the community and have clients who have been washing their dogs there for many years.

Jeannie continues to work hard to keep Dunk’N Dogwash prices reasonable even with today’s increasing water rates. Dunk’N Dogs recycles water and keeps a close eye on their environmental impact.  Knowing how hard it is to stay on budget, Dunk’N Dogwash offers many discounts and coupons to customers to help keep expenses down.

Jeannie’s personal interest in and knowledge of holistic health has led her to continue to study and share her knowledge of pet nutrition. Dunk’N Dogwash offers many safe and natural products and services including one of only 2 microbubble systems in San Diego. Jeannie continues to keep her margins low on dog food despite the increase of big pet store chains opening in Clairemont. Dunk’N Dogs participates in many “Shop Local” events and remains one of Clairemont’s dwindling family owned businesses.

Come by Dunk’N Dogwash at 3056 Clairemont Drive and say Hi to Jeannie and her staff and bring your dog in for a wash and a treat.

Say you saw this article on Clairemont.com 

and get $2 off a dog wash!