Bobby’s Bubbles Pet Grooming, owned by Michelle Tanner and Bobby Long, is a testament to a small, family-owned business off the beaten path in the Brush Prairie business loop.
Tanner said Brush Prairie has been in her blood her entire life. As a resident of Camas growing up, she would stay with her uncle the majority of her summers to play with horses.
“It’s a great town,” she said. “I mean, it’s still friendly.”
With Brush Prairie built along the Chelatchie Prairie Railroad, Tanner believes the threat of heavy rail usage through the area could jeopardize what Brush Prairie has always been: a quiet, small business center off the main highway. Tanner added that if the rumbling of heavy rail usage extended past her business, the experience of grooming animals wouldn’t be the same, especially for the pets.
“I think if you lost the strip, it wouldn’t be the same,” Tanner said. “I know they want to extend the railroad track or something and that’s pretty devastating to all of these family-owned businesses right here, you know. It wouldn’t be the same. It wouldn’t be the same type of grooming … and the people come here because they still like the small town and comfortable feel. It’d be horrible if any of us had to go.”
Tanner brings 25 years of pet grooming with her, having started at Petco. She’s since been running her own business for a dozen years now in September, she said.
“It’s family run. It’s just me, the kids and my husband, Bobby,” she said. “We all just love it. We’re all animal lovers.”
The products that Tanner utilizes at her business are all natural, from flea care to shampoos, she said. For the care of the dogs or cats, staff focus on one pet at a time, straight through the day, in order for the pet to not be in the groomer for five to six hours.
“The average time is about one and a half to two hours,” Tanner said. “We work with all sorts of animals. You know, aggressive dogs, nervous dogs, puppies, we do a lot.”
Often when a pet comes from the Humane Society, they’re mad about being groomed after being neglected, she said. Tanner encourages new pet owners to adopt before thinking of buying from a breeder. She also recommends researching certain dog and cat breeds before buying or adopting them.
“A lot of people get the big doodles and long-haired dogs and have no idea what it involves and how expensive it is to keep them from not being matted disasters, you know,” Tanner said. “It’s a lot of money. So yeah, do your homework and always adopt before going to find an expensive dog.”
In addition, Tanner said to get the pet started with grooming at a young age.
“Start them young, that way it’s not traumatizing later,” she said. “I mean, we want to make this where they enjoy getting groomed. It’s not a dentist appointment, you know. For a small child, it’s devastating. They want to come in here and be comfortable knowing what’s happening, and dogs need their teeth brushed, they need their nails done. A lot of us don’t even realize that until it’s something bad happening.”
For appointments and more information regarding Bobby’s Bubbles Pet Grooming, call 360-695-3655. The business is located at 15317 NE Caples Road, Brush Prairie. The business can also be reached by emailing bobbysbubbles@gmail.com.
