Wag'N Tails Mobile Conversions Helps Shelter Pets Put Their Best Paws Forward to Get Them Adopted to Loving Homes

Granger, IN, September 29, 2011 --(PR.com)-- Animal shelters take in 5-7 million of lost, abandoned or unwanted pets each year. Each year, approximately 4 million are put down. With our current economic times, that number is growing rapidly. For the third straight year, more than 1,600 Wag’n Tails grooming van owners across the country are being called upon once again to volunteer their expert pet styling services to help change those sad statistics.

Throughout October, independent pet grooming owners of Wag’n Tails Mobile Conversions vans will give shelter dogs in their area a professional groom in the comfort of their vans to make them more adoptable. This campaign is being held simultaneously with October 2011’s “Adopt A Shelter Dog Month,” designated by both the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) and the American Humane Association.

“We are excited to once again do our part to reduce the staggering numbers of dogs being euthanized,” explains Dennis Gnetz, president of Wag’n Tails Mobile Conversions (www.wagntails.com), the world’s leader in mobile grooming vans, who is organizing the effort. During the 2010 campaign, these independent business owners voluntarily groomed more than 2100 dogs in shelters all across the USA. Gnetz anticipates far exceeding those numbers this year.

“Because our Wag’n Tails van owners are mobile, it allows them to bring the pet grooming salon to the shelter. This is a huge convenience considering that shelters are primarily operated by volunteers who are limited on time, as are busy pet owners who use mobile pet grooming services.”

For the mobile grooming customer, the service is a convenience that suits their busy lifestyle and it’s also less traumatic for their pets. There’s no waiting in a kennel all day until it’s their turn to be groomed, and there is no exposure to other pets. The Wag’n Tails van, which is a posh salon on wheels, is entirely self-contained. The van makes its own electricity, holds water in tanks, and has all the grooming equipment necessary to make the pet look fantastic. The professional groomer gives the pet personalized attention and is finished in about an hour.

But for a shelter dog, grooming can often mean the difference between life and death. “Most of the dogs we see in shelters have fur matted to the skin, and look pretty scruffy,” says Wag’n Tails Founder and Groomer of the Century Dina Perry. “We de-shed them and make their coats shine. You can’t believe how differently the dogs react when you tell them how beautiful they are. Their attitude totally changes. They know they are cute!” Last year, the CBS Early Show provided some “before and after” looks at what can be done by these professional pet groomers working their magic (http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6829350n&tag=mncol;lst;).

Adds Wag’n Tails owner Heather Summers of Goose Creek, SC, “I couldn't believe the difference in how fast these pets got adopted once they were groomed. One shepherd I did was looked over four times and every one of (the families) decided not to adopt him. I groomed him and then the next day he was adopted. It was that quick!”

“I groomed seven dogs, and five of them got adopted the next day!” recalls owner Michele Dukette of West Palm Beach, FL. “It was really a great experience and I will be donating my time there again in the near future.”

To give their mobile grooming customers an added incentive to participate in this year’s grooming campaign, the Wag’n Tails owner who grooms the most shelter pets in October will be awarded $5,000 cash courtesy of Wag’n Tails along with gift certificates from grooming supplies giant, PetEdge.

Watch for the Wag’n Tails mobile grooming vans outside of your local shelter throughout October 2011. To learn more about the Wag’n Tails business opportunity, or to locate an independent Wag’n Tails mobile groomer in your area, visit www.wagntails.com.

Media Note: For more information, or to schedule an interview with a participating mobile grooming professional in your area, contact John Stockman at 800-513-0304 or john@wagntails.com.

Biography -- Dennis Gnetz

Dennis Gnetz has been a key part in all of his family's various pet-related businesses since childhood. He has a wealth of experience with the mobile grooming businesses, the pet styling salons, grooming school, high-velocity dryer company and pet resorts. He was heavily involved with, and loved building the Wag’n Tails mobile grooming units for his mother’s 22-van fleet, even from a very young age.

Dennis purchased Wag'n Tails Mobile Conversions from his mother, Dina Perry, in 1999. Since that time, Wag’n Tails has grown exponentially and is widely recognized as a pet grooming industry leader, and the largest converter and supplier of pet grooming vans the world over.

Biography – Dina Perry

Dina Perry is definitely a pet grooming industry “Diva,” starting in Minneapolis in 1969 where she had four salons and six mobile units. She moved to Michigan in 1980, and soon had several businesses there including: 22 mobile salons; several stationary salons, the Michigan School of Canine Cosmetology, Wag’n Tails Pet Motel and Top-Knot High Velocity Dryer Company. Dina realized the need for a company that specialized in building mobile units and opened Wag’n Tails Mobile Conversions.

Dina is an internationally recognized Groom Team USA competitor, sanctioned contest judge, consultant and lecturer. She is the only person ever awarded “Groomer of the Century” by the Cardinal Crystal Awards.

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