Pet groomers to open new shop
The two Camarillo residents will also offer on-site pet day care
By Michelle Knight knight@theacorn.com

BILL SPARKES/Acorn Newspapers PAMPERED-Levi, a springer spaniel, receives the royal treatment from Ida Lesley, left, and Carmelita "CC" Escobar. After running a mobile pet grooming service for more than 15 years, the two women decided to open their own salon. "Classic Clips," at 5800 Santa Rosa Road, will open Dec. 15.

Dog lovers soon can add pet grooming to their shopping list when visiting Santa Rosa Plaza.

CC and Ida's Classic Clips is scheduled to open in midDecember in the Santa Rosa Road shopping center. The groomers will join an already petfriendly center that boasts a veterinary office, boutique pet store and visiting dog training service and pet adoption group.

Camarillo residents Carmelita Escobar and business partner, Ida Lesley, have run a successful mobile dog grooming business for a decade. Business has grown to the point where their more than 1,500 clients from Santa Paula to Camarillo must wait at least two weeks for an appointment. The two women work as long as 11 hours, six days a week.

"There was so much call and requests for mobile . . . we wanted the shop to take the overflow," Escobar said.

The two became fast friends after meeting 20 years ago through a mutual friend. A couple of years later, Escobar suffered a work injury and had to consider a change in career. Both women had owned two or more dogs and were unhappy they had to stay in cages all day when visiting the groomer. Their empathy for the animals' comfort and convenience moved them to launch their own pet grooming service in a small shop in Oxnard.

Within the first year business doubled, and it doubled again the second year. Lesley retired from her phone company job and began grooming full time in 1995. They closed the shop five years after it opened and for the next decade took their grooming services to the clients.

Business again grew by leaps and bounds until they could no longer handle the demand. Escobar and Lesley plan to hire a couple of new employees to staff the 600-square-foot shop, which will also offer pet day care services. Prices range from $25 to $70; they'll continue to offer mobile pet grooming.

Escobar's peaceloving 100pound bull mastiff, Mr. Big, will be the shop mascot.

Escobar's forte is the fancy cut-making the eyebrow details distinctive on some breeds and filling owners' requests for mohawks, lion's cuts or pompoms-while Lesley likes to stick to basic trims.

"As long as it doesn't hurt the dog, we'll give him that type of haircut," Lesley said.

Classic Clips is one of three new businesses Camarillo residents are opening in the plaza within the next few months.

Plaza owner David Press said that the entrepreneurs' choice of their city as the best place to launch a business speaks well of Camarillo.

"It's a vibrant community and has a businessfriendly government and Chamber of Commerce," he said.