Cowboy, a 1-year-old standard poodle, perches atop a metal table in the back of a customized step van Monday while Vicksburg native Terra Mashburn methodically snips and clips his pompadour of mane into submission.

Cowboy is relaxed and calm inside the van, where the steady hum of the generator mounted on back sends gentle vibrations throughout and runs the necessary equipment for the job at hand.

“This is a low stress vehicle. I have dogs that come in here and go to sleep,” she said.

Mashburn, owner of Bark Avenue Mobile Pet Grooming, knows Cowboy well. She knows that he lives on a farm in Port Gibson with other dogs, she knows that he doesn’t mind having his toenails clipped, and she knows he’s still a young dog that likes to get dirty.

“He’s a wild man outside this truck,” she said. “When he came in here today he was filthy. He found the fertilizer that had just been delivered out to their pasture.”

Cowboy is just one of scores of dogs Mashburn spruces up out of her mobile grooming facility. On any given week she might groom between 50 and 70 dogs, she said. In fact she’s become so successful in her venture that she’s had to institute a waiting list for new clients because she can’t take on any more right now.

“I’ve been trying to take more time off, but it hasn’t worked out too well,” Mashburn said. “That’s one thing I haven’t been real successful at.”

Many of her clients are in the Vicksburg area, but she has others as far away as Raymond or Madison. Most of her clientele are repeat customers who keep a standing appointment from once a week to once every six weeks, she said.

Mashburn started grooming dogs full time about six years ago at a PetSmart, then moved over to a private salon before starting her own business three years ago.

She decided that a mobile location would be the best fit for herself and her clients – the overhead cost would be low and she could take her talents straight to her customers — so she started doing her research.

Companies build mobile grooming vans but the cost for one of those would practically be a mortgage payment, Mashburn said. She instead purchased a retired FedEx van and enlisted the help of her son and a friend to prepare the vehicle with all the equipment she would need. They outfitted it with a generator, insulation, electrical wiring, new walls, and a water tank mounted underneath which is pumped in to bathe the dogs.

Mashburn was nervous, as most small business owners are, when she started out but her love for her job made the risk worth it.

“I’ve had jobs before where I was sick to my stomach every day driving in. I hated what I did, and when I started doing this full time that just went away,” she said. “Do what you love and you’ll never work another day in your life.”

Just like people, every dog has a different personality, regardless of breed, Mashburn said. Some don’t like having their nails done, while others don’t like a bath or the blow dryer. She works hard to help the dogs relax and many of them, especially the older ones, even doze off while she cuts their hair.

“I’ll cut one side, then roll them over and do the other,” Mashburn said.

Cowboy is wide awake for his haircut, but then he’s still barely more than a puppy, albeit a large one. As Mashburn takes a step back to inspect her work she nods in approval.

“He cleans up like a very nice gentleman.”