Flagstaff Featured Business: Bark in Style Barber
The Flagstaff Region Featured Business is a monthly newspaper and web feature presented in partnership by Flagstaff County and The Community Press.
Bark in Style Barber
5027 50 St., Killam
1-403-575-0289
Email: barkinstylebarber@gmail.com
Tammy, owner of the all-breed dog-grooming facility, calls it the spa experience.
“We don’t intermingle dogs here. They get handled one-on-one. They get the spa experience, the individual experience,” she says. “Sometimes we have young dogs, old dogs, dogs with health issues. We like to give individual care based on that particular dog’s needs and the pet owner’s specifications.”
Bark in Style Barber, which offers everything from haircuts to baths to nail trims, opened in Killam in November of 2021.
“Kind of like the middle of COVID,” notes Tammy, who has been in the industry for more than 30 years. “I had been working, grooming out of a vet clinic and we couldn’t facilitate grooms there. So we were able to find this great little space in Killam and decided to open up our own shop and put our feet in the water and it’s been great.”
Since opening, Tammy has taken great pride in working to establish an at-home, laid-back feeling to the shop.
“We want it to be not just a pet-grooming shop, but something that’s a little bit more in tune to the client’s needs for their pets – less commercial, more homestyle. We’re a small shop with good service,” she explains.
“You could go to the big city and you could get your dog groomed at a bigger corporate-owned shop. But that’s not what we want to provide.
“We want to be able to provide dog grooming to Flagstaff so they don’t have to go to the bigger centres. But it’s a more individual experience here, just like the town is. I love being here because I’m right across the street from a great grocery store. Someone can go down the street and buy a bouquet of flowers for their mom or stop at the coffee shop or go see the doctor or go to the drugstore. So that’s what we offer is that experience.
“It’s what you could get in the city, but more of a hometown feel where everybody knows your name, if that makes sense at all. “And we know your pet’s name. And when they come in, they feel like family.”
Tammy, who has shown dogs in the past, also takes pride in not cutting corners.
“We don’t buy cheap shampoo, we don’t do that type of thing,” she adds. “Each dog gets the best possible groom.”
Also, each dog’s “after” photo is posted to Facebook, showing the quality of individual care that it is afforded.
Bark in Style, which strives to keep rates affordable, services mixed breeds and purebred dogs, as well as cats.
“Flagstaff is a really unique community because it’s an eclectic mix of all types of people,” Tammy says. “We generally see anything from a farm dog to a retired couple to, you know, the everyday person that has a family dog.”
Tammy doesn’t live in Flagstaff County, but she still feels a community bond. She drives an hour to work every day – a trip she says is worth it.
“I could have opened a shop out of my home. I could have opened a shop in a different town,” she points out, noting that her adopted community offers all of the amenities of a larger centre – with a small-town feel.
Tammy is joined by Samantha, her assistant groomer.
Samantha loves her job, but especially enjoys when an owner comes to pick up their groomed pet.
“It’s always fun to see the owner’s reaction because a lot of times it’s different than what they’re used to,” Samantha says. “They come in and they’re like, ‘My gosh!’ And they pick up their dog and they snuggle them. They’re like, ‘It smells so good. And he’s so soft.’”
Tammy says all services are subject to her approval, but she’s quick to point out that Samantha has been an excellent student.
“Sometimes if we have a dog that’s a little bit combative, she’ll put hers in a kennel and the two of us will work on it together, even if it’s just cuddling the dog while he gets his nails trimmed,” Tammy notes.
“If that makes him feel better and it helps us get him out of here feeling better about getting his nails trimmed, it makes a difference for the next time that he comes in.”
And that’s how Tammy and Samantha define success at Bark in Style Barber.
“At the end of the day, the dogs go home looking good and the people are happy and we’ve basically, you know, enriched their life, if that makes sense,” Tammy explains.
“Dogs are a huge part of people’s mental health. We get a lot of comments, like, ‘My gosh, my dog smells so good and he’s so happy.’ So we’re not only enriching the dog’s life by doing that, we’re enriching the people’s life as well.”
Bark in Style Barber is open by appointment only.
The Flagstaff Region Featured Business is a monthly newspaper and web feature presented in partnership by Flagstaff County and The Community Press.
