Wichita business is expanding to reach more of the city

Shelby Sheils has a day job as an aerospace manufacturing engineer, but he said he also knows dogs.

“I have a passion for dogs.”

That’s why he became a licensee for Lucky Dog Mobile Groomers last year and now is expanding the business.

Sheils said he’s noticed two things that make dogs happy: seeing their owners and getting baths.

“To me, that’s the true happiest days in their life,” he said. “You just see the look in their eyes. They’re just so happy.”

Edris Yousefi started the Houston-based business when his partner was pregnant and helped out at a friend’s mobile dog grooming business. He said his partner “would complain about all the things this lady was doing wrong.”

So Yousefi suggested opening their own business. He said he has a background in scaling national franchise concepts and companies, particularly in tech spaces, and saw an opportunity to create a new kind of grooming brand “to meet consumers where they’re at today.”

Yousefi said it’s all about convenience with online bookings, route optimization and packages based on the needs of dogs.

Taking dogs to places to be groomed “can be a very stressful experience for them,” Yousefi said.

Mobile grooming is more of a one-on-one experience, he said.

Customers receive grooming reports, including before and after photos.

Prices range from $99 up to $159 depending on the size of dogs and the services they receive.

Sheils said a lot of his clients are elderly and can’t easily get out of their homes to take their dogs to be groomed. He said he has a lot of professional clients, too.

Business was slow when he started last January, Sheils said, but has significantly picked up to where he’s booked out two or three weeks.

His second mobile grooming vehicle should be ready this spring.

“I’d like to see four busses running full time,” Sheils said.

Once he’s fully established here, he said he’d also like to look at expanding to Topeka, Manhattan and Kansas City, Kan.

“We have the template down for this.”

This story was originally published January 23, 2025 at 12:30 PM.