InTouch with Southern Kentucky August 2020 | Page 7

But humans weren’t the
only creatures suffering
from out-of-control
hairstyles. Pet groomers
were forced to close for two
months, and pet owners’
furry friends were faced
with plenty of their own
issues – some more serious
than many people realized
they could be.
Groomers are open for
business again, but have
spent months catching up
on appointments that were
missed between March and
May.
Happy Dogs Grooming, for
example, was closed from
March 19 until May 11, with
472 appointments missed
during that timeframe.
“We were tremendously
stressed out during the
shutdown, wondering
how we were going to fit
everyone back in,” said Kim
Ping, who co-owns Happy
Dogs with her daughter,
Karli Ping.
Their business had only
been open for a year when
they were forced to close
temporarily, and while
many small businesses
were essentially destroyed
due to lack of income, the
Pings learned just how
much their customers loved
them during the season of
COVID-19.
“We have the absolute
best clients in town,” Kim
said. “During the shutdown,
we had many clients who
purchased gift cards to
keep a little income rolling
in. We got gifts by mail.
We had tons of clients to
do a drive by and deliver
us meals. Money, gifts,
coffee… I mean, our clients
made sure we were gonna
be ok on so many levels. I
don’t think anyone in town
has better clients than we
do. We consider them all
family. They went above
and beyond to take care of
us.”
CALEB LOWNDES I CJ
Happy Dogs Grooming co-owner Kim Ping has been working long hours catching
up on more than 400 appointments that were missed during the state’s
shutdown earlier this year.
AUGUST 2020 In Touch with Southern Kentucky • 7