by Dennis Dalman
editor@thenewsleaders.com
Jinger McNinch of Rice wants to be sure tails are wagging happily when dogs and cats leave her new pet-grooming shop, Doggie Styles.
McNinch opened for business mid-June in a large rented space just to the south in the Pine’s Edge Gas and Grocery building, located in the mini mall along Hwy. 10 a few miles south of Rice.
In May, McNinch and her family moved into the Rockwood Estates Mobile-Home Park, which is just a couple of blocks north of her new shop.
McNinch has been grooming dogs and cats since she was very young. It’s a skill she learned from her mother, Jana Kocimba, who has been a groomer since she was 15. In fact, Kocimba still grooms at her shop in downtown Rice, dubbed Town and Country Grooming. McNinch also worked there, helping her mother, until recently when she decided to open her own business.
Before that, McNinch had a thriving pet-grooming shop in Fergus Falls, called Jingers’ Grooming Gracefully, but she had to let that business go so she could move to the Rice area to help her mother.
Born in Gillette, Wyo., McNinch lived there until she was 12. Then she, her mother and siblings moved to St. Cloud and lived there until she was 18. After that, she lived in Otter Tail County and Fergus Falls for 20 years before her move to the Rice area.
“I wasn’t sure about opening a place of my own,” McNinch said. “But then my husband and I met with one of the owners of Pine’s Edge Gas and Grocery, and he offered a reasonable deal for me renting in that building, so I decided to go ahead and open my own shop.”
McNinch is passionate about grooming because to her it’s all about the animals – about making them comfortable and giving back some of the affection, loyalty and love they give so constantly to human beings.
“It (her business) is not about vanity, it’s not about money,” she said, “it’s about making animals comfortable and making it a good experience for them. It’s about working with animal owners to help them prevent grooming problems with dogs, helping educate them on how to care for their animals. It’s about how to make grooming affordable for people who are having a hard time, and it’s about how I can help them and their animals get on the right track.”
McNinch firmly believes dogs (and cats, too) have so much to teach people.
“They give us great affection,” she said. “They give us unconditional love all the time. They can teach us patience and compassion. And we should give that unconditional love back to them. I can do that partly through grooming.”
Her love of animals extends to her part-time job at the Rice Veterinary Clinic as a vet assistant/kennel helper. She’s been working there part time four days a week since February.
As a groomer for her own business, she averages five dogs per day. Each grooming is a full-service treatment. She does the grooming (clipping and shearing of excess fur), nail trimming, cleaning around ears and glands, and a shampoo-wash and blow-dry. All those tasks are included in the one-cost package.
“I have always stayed reasonable with my prices to help people afford it,” she said. “I groom all sizes and all breeds. And cats, too.”
Some animals need an overall grooming because some suffer from allergies, and grooming helps remove excess hair and dander to allow the skin to be healthier and more comfortable. Grooming helps the natural shedding process of dogs such as Labradors, basset hounds, terrier breeds and golden retrievers.
Some dogs must be groomed and trimmed, or they can become virtually tangled fur balls, such as poodles, shih tzus and Yorkies.
McNinch has never met a dog she didn’t like. She loves to groom them, even when they put up a bit of a fuss at first, when her infinite patience is a real plus.
So far, Doggie Styles is pretty much a big empty rented room, but McNinch is now starting to brighten it up with furnishings in a style she calls “country shabby chic,” a combo of muted mellow hues contrasted with bright, lively colors. She’s also having a shop sign designed – one that resembles a big comb with a dog’s head on one end and tail on the other.
Her tentative hours are from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday; 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday. People can schedule appointments by calling McNinch at 320-241-2680 or texting that same number.
McNinch and her husband, Dan, have six children – three adults (Josh, Jeren and Jordan) and three young ones (Jezrah, Joeb, Jamos). Dan, a former truck driver, is a detailer for vehicles.
Patches pauses for a photo with his groomer, Jinger McNinch. After a shampoo and blowdry, a reinvigorated Patches will be ready to greet his owners with a wagging tail.
In her new shop just south of Rice, Jinger McNinch clips lots of excess hair from a dog named Patches from the Holdingford area. Although Patches was nervous and skittish at first, he settled down nicely for the rest of the grooming process.
Patches, freshly shorn, cooler and comfortable, waits for his owner from Holdingford to come pick him up at the Doggie Styles shop.
