YOU can wash your clothes at a laundromat, spruce up your car at a carwash . . . and now Sydneysiders can avoid bathing the family pooch at home by visiting a DIY dogwash.
The DIY Dog Wash in Castle Hill is the brainchild of Leigh Kostiainen, proud owner of Bowie the border collie and Chickie the golden retriever.
When she and her family lived in Melbourne they had a dog-groomer nearby where a hydrobath was available for people to wash their own pets.
But on moving to Sydney, Ms Kostiainen couldn’t find anywhere to wash her dogs – and the DIY concept was born.
Like many owners, Ms Kostiainen likes washing her own pet but hates the inconvenience of doing it at home.”The hair just sticks to everything – the cleanup after is worse than cleaning the dogs!” she says.
The DIY Dog Wash opened last weekend and Ms Kostiainen said it was far busier than expected.
But with five hydrobaths and 18 drying bays, there still are no lines and no appointments necessary.
The process, which costs $18 a dog on weekdays and $20 on weekends, can be as quick as 20 minutes but there is no time limit – some owners spend up to two hours pampering their pooch.
Ms Kostiainen now plans to open another store within 18 months and says franchising is imminent.
danakeith on May 17th, 2008 at 12:14 am
I’m impress with the idea, dogs hair can be very irritating.. It makes me sick every time I saw one, can’t be sure if it was clean or not, right..
Good thing they’ll able to come up with this business, now pretty sure others would love it too.