Bow Wow Beauty Shoppe Banks on Bones

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by Celene Adams

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A chandelier swinging from the ceiling and an over-sized cocktail glass filled with “doggy d’oeurves” give some indication of just what goes down at Bow Wow Beauty Shoppe, a pet boutique on University Avenue.

“I once used to look at places like this and think they were silly. I’d think, ‘Those crazy dog people!’” laughs owner Leel Michelle, 32.

But then Michelle acquired Frida, an 8 pound Chihuahua.

Frida might be short on size but she’s long on influence.

"She inspired Bow Wow," Michelle laughs, pointing out the boutique’s tiny totes, canine couture and doggie décor.

While Frida’s tastes might run to frou frou (Bow Wow has pink walls and offers blueberry facials, photo opps with Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny, pet-friendly happy hours and art shows, and shots of Fido transitioning from “beast to beauty”), Michelle has four feet planted firmly on the ground.

Bow Wow’s location was “a no-brainer,” she says. “Obviously, in the gay community there are a whole lot more animals because [their pets] are their children.”

“I’ve always had gay friends…. This neighborhood has people I can relate to, and you can just be yourself. … I felt that this business made sense in this neighborhood because it’s something that people in the gay community would very much appreciate.”

But before letting “the dogs out” on her desire to bring “art, animals and wine” together in one venue, Michelle did her research: “I’m one of the rare business owners in this industry that did my target market research, as opposed to being an animal lover first and opening a business,” she says, explaining how, after finding the business for sale on craigslist.com, she began negotiating with the owner. “Then I started doing my research in terms of how many animals there are per person, locally and nationally, and visiting pet shops throughout southern California. I saw that a lot of shops were backed up sometimes two, three weeks,” Michelle says, “and lots of them don’t take new clients. And that tells me that there is a definite need for this business. And so, then I went to grooming school, and did a lot more research and [continued] negotiation and construction.”

Construction? Michelle, completed much of Bow Wow’s interior herself, after funding the business largely from gutting a condominium, renovating it and flipping it.

Now, she’s overseeing the erection of stairs in the back of the building that will lead to six “hotel suites” at Bow Wow – some for dogs, but also some for cats.

Did Frida weigh in on this one? Michelle didn’t say. But she’s excited about the new development, which will offer themed accommodation. “We’ll have a Pink Panther theme, a Hollywood suite, maybe a Cadillac suite. It will open in two months, right before the holidays,” she grins.

“I think people really [want] – grooming specifically … and then we’re also going to be, very soon, … rolling out a loyalty program and a membership program. Every time [a customer] comes in, they’ll earn a certain number of Bow Wow bucks,” Michelle laughs.

(Better throw a bone in too.)