Dog groomer Karen Buckley opens Enchanted Mirror in Toowoomba
A new dog groomer has opened a salon in Newtown to make your dog feel as lush as they look after a bath and brush.
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The non-judgemental companionship, friendship and joy that pet dogs bring us is truly without match, so why not give them the best pampering?
This is the ethos behind Enchanted Mirror, Toowoomba’s newest dog grooming salon, and owner Karen Buckley has not held back on giving her clients the best treatments she can find – turning what is often a scary trip to groomer, into a full blown fun and relaxing experience.
“I wanted to create something that was nice for dogs, but also for people who treat their dogs like I treat mine,” she said.
“My dogs didn’t like going to the groomers, and I didn’t like them being put in small cages.”
Nano spa treatments which are soft on their skin and remove the dirt from their hair just by being in the water, detox masks which nourish their coat, and then a warm blow-dry and comb out with straightening and a bit of a trim are just a few of the services Ms Buckley offers.
As one pup waits for another pup to be groomed, there’s a scented garden to explore, filled with edible plants known to be favourites with dogs, or if a pooch needs a bit of alone time there’s a few open roofed pens close to the grooming table with a little couch and blanket they can crawl onto.
Ms Buckley said the salon was “a gift” from her husband, Shane, a former farmer who now works at a Toowoomba car dealership.
It was him who turned her ideas of the salon into reality by transforming the former hairdressing salon into her dog grooming studio, building the pens and shaping her designs into reality.
Opening a dog salon wasn’t a business choice, Ms Buckley said.
Struggling with PTSD and her mental health, she said her doctor told her to do something that makes her happy, and it was her dogs that made her happy.
So she trained with a dog groomer for a few years, got her qualifications, and at the end of December 2024 opened up the salon.
She said she enjoys most working with dogs who have trauma or PTSD, and here she finds ways to introduce them to the salon, whether that’s short bursts of them getting used to a hair dryer, or the spa, or even just letting them stay for a couple of hours to get used to the salon, nothing is too much to ensure their experience is as pleasant as possible.
Ms Buckley said the salon for her was more a lifestyle choice, and the care she gives the dogs, and the love they give back to her is what is most important.
“When they come in here, all they want is to feel loved,” she said.
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Originally published as Dog groomer Karen Buckley opens Enchanted Mirror in Toowoomba
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