Kay Edwards has scars up and down her arms, a testament to her dedication to her trade. Despite being bitten by numerous dogs over her 15 years in business, WAGS — Washing and Grooming Services — owner Edwards said she wouldn’t have it any other way.

Edwards said grooming is something you have to have a passion for.

“We get here at 7:30 in the morning, and we’re here all day,” she said. “I still love that last dog that I’m doing at 5 p.m. as much as that one I started with at 7:30 a.m.”

Over the years Edwards and her staff have formed bonds with dogs and customers alike.

“It’s customers we’ve grown old with,” she said. “When they’ve had heartache over losing a family member, we’ve understood that heartache. We take customers who lost their animals, and we cry for those animals too.”

Edwards said she has always looked at her business as a ministry.

“God made us caretakers of the animals,” she said. “We try to keep that in mind as we’re working on the animals and treat them just as we would treat our own animals, and not only be here for the animals but be here for the people that we come in contact with every day. You never know what that person on the other side of the counter has going on in their life. If you can smile and try to get them to smile, it’s always a good thing just to let them know someone cares about them and they’re there for them, and that’s what we try to do.”

Edwards went to Nash Academy in Lexington, Ky where she learned how to be a dog groomer, but the education didn’t stop there.

“Over time we’ve seen dog hair styles change just like people hair styles change,” she said. “We have to go to seminars about once a year.”

Edwards said she and others at her shop have learned a lot over the years.

“You’ve got to know what to use on certain dogs’ coats for their skin if they have skin problems,” she said. “We’ve always tried to stay toward the natural shampoos, they don’t affect the flea treatments.”

Some dogs come on a weekly basis, two-week basis, once a month or every six months, Edwards said.

“We do large, medium and small dogs,” she said. “We do all breeds.”

Edwards said WAGS isn’t her first business venture and she has experience running her own place.

“My husband and I had owned a supermarket together in Flora, Mississippi, and after an armed robbery, we both decided it was timed to sell the business,” she said. “We moved to our house at Eagle Lake and played for two years, and I began to get bored. I had always loved animals, and this was something I had always wanted to do.”

A life-long animal lover herself, Edwards has seven dogs of her own.

“I have a mastiff mix that weighs 137 pounds,” she said. “I have a shepherd mix that is 17 years old, a shih tzu that’s 16 years old, a 10-year-old pekingese, a 6-year-old shih-poo, an 11-year-old standard poodle and a 6-month-old chow mix.”

Most of the dogs accumulated over time with the business, several of them rescued from clients, Edwards said.

“I bring four or five of them to work with me every day,” she said. “They each have their own spot in my car. I have to be sure when I buy a car that it has enough air conditioning in the back for my animals to be comfortable.”

WAGS is located at 1825 North Frontage Rd. Suite B, and Edwards can reached at 601-636-7387.