For a lot of people going to the dogs wouldn’t be a compliment.

But that’s not true in the case of Sheila Taggart, owner of Pawsitively Purrfect dog grooming  in Purcell.

Taggart and her husband, Daniel, operate the dog grooming studio at 317 W. Main Street with a Doggy Day-care right next door, run by their son, Mathew, while number three son, Mitchell is in Animal Control here in Purcell. Their eldest son, Michael, lives at home.

For the Taggarts, they have all gone to the dogs.

Sheila, who is the daughter of former OHP Trooper and McClain County Undersheriff Bill Shobe, and her in-the-future husband were classmates in the second grade at Waukomis in Garfield County.

After Shobe graduated from the OHP Academy he was assigned to Purcell and that’s how they came to be McClain County residents.

Sheila said she went to Purcell Schools until the seventh grade when the family moved to
Wayne where she graduated from high school in 1983.

After a year at USAO in Chickasha, Sheila decided she wanted to do something that was more creative.

“That’s what they told me when I was in high school,” she recalled.

“Mom went to grooming school and taught me,” Taggart said.

So she went to Pet Smart in Norman where she worked her way up to Groom Manager.

Her mom and step-dad operated Nature Farms where they sold farrier supplies out of the front and groomed dogs in the back of the shop.

“That’s how they paid the rent for the building – was grooming dogs,” Sheila said.

After Pet Smart, Taggart went out on her own and opened her store in 1998.

Daniel joined in the dog grooming business 10 years ago and they have worked side-by-side ever since.

“I just love dealing with the dogs,” Taggart reports. “And, I love talking to the customers when they come in and drop off their dog.”

The most challenging part?

“As a small business owner you get in those lows in the economy and you get in panic mode but then you just have to carry through. I’m one of the lucky ones,” she continued. “Everyone takes care of their pet but you still worry about it.”

What breed is easier to take care of?

After a long and deep thought she said, “They all have their fusses. I won’t do mini pinchers.”

Nowadays she said she does lots of Shih tzus, Schnauzers and Doodles.

“We do a lot of Doodles,” she confirmed.

Taggart said she and Daniel can do 13-15 dogs a day.

“It just depends on if they are small or large. It takes anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour to 1 1/2 hours for a hair cut.

“I love what I do,” she confirmed. “I have no ambition to retire, yet. I love getting out there and doing it.”

When dogs are puppies they are a little bit squeamish about getting their nails trimmed.

“But as the get older they get used to it,” she said. “And, I’ve done these dogs pretty much their whole life, so they get used to it.”

The grooming parlor is open Tuesday through Friday from 8 a.m. “until the last paw leaves the door and Saturday at 9-4,” she said.

The day-care is open from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. They do offer overnight service for grooming customers.

On the side, Sheila works for the McClain County Election Board on election days.

She has worked her way up to Inspector of the Union Hill precinct.

“I like doing it. I’ve made a lot of friends and met a lot of people,” she said working three to four elections annually.

“And my Dad will come out and visit me during the day which I like,” she confirmed.

It’s definitely a break from going to the dogs.