Rain early...then remaining cloudy with showers overnight. Potential for flooding rains. Low near 45F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a half an inch..
Tonight
Rain early...then remaining cloudy with showers overnight. Potential for flooding rains. Low near 45F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a half an inch.
HOOD RIVER — A new way to wash your dog has opened in Hood River — no more wrestling your pup or bending over backwards just to get them clean in your tub at home. With Hood River Hound Wash, the business is giving pet owners an easier, appointment-free way to keep their dogs fresh.
The self-serve station offers soap, water, conditioner, detangler and a blow dryer, all included in a cashless system that accepts card payments. The setup allows users to tap their card for $12 to start a 10-minute timer, which can be extended up to 20 minutes.
Owner Cathie Ward, who opened the self-serve wash on Aug. 18, said the concept stands out because it doesn’t require an appointment or an attendant to operate, allowing dog owners to wash their pets on their own schedule. Ward says the venture feels natural for her, as she comes from a family of business owners and even incorporated her daughter’s vending machine business, Wild Flower Vending, which offers dog essentials available for purchase in the lobby.
The system proved effective when Columbia Gorge News’ office intern dog, Marty Tabor, tested it out. His thick, curly poodle coat was cleaned and detangled in less than 10 minutes thanks to the wash’s quick-cleaning and detangling shampoo formula.
Ward, who is also a nurse in the building’s upstairs clinic, said she uses her lunch breaks to maintain the wash. “I work upstairs, and the spot came open. When these people moved out, I was already stewing on the idea, and I thought, ‘What a perfect opportunity of a place for me’,” she said. “Then I just went for it. It’s been great.”
The inspiration to open a hound wash initially came from her own dog, Marley.
“We just do a lot of gorge adventures,” she said. “We get out in the kayak and hike and bike and we also are into motorsports and Marley gets really dirty, and I just find it to be stressful for him and I to wash in the tub, and so I decided I was going to put some sort of big tub in at my house and I was like, I bet other people need this too.”
Then the idea to put it all in motion struck while she was on a trip. “I happen then to be on a trip to Paulsville, Washington, and I saw somebody who had a dog wash, and I was like, that’s what we need in Hood River. I’m just gonna do it,” she said.
Now open daily from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., the Hood River Hound Wash operates entirely self-serve.
Ward hopes to expand in the future and said the community should keep an eye out for updates, as more services could be on the way for the Hound Wash.
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Located at 1784 May St., Hood River Hound Wash starts at $12 and is open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. For updates, follow @HoodRiverHoundWash on Instagram or Facebook.
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