Van Horn and surrounding areas now have their own mobile pet groomer, Desert Dogs. Lora (Lupa) and husband Tracy Jernigan moved to Van Horn last year after he accepted a job at American Talc as quality control manager.
Lupa grew up in Artesia, New Mex., so she had some familiarity with the region and was thrilled to come back to the desert after almost 30 years in the Atlanta area.
Desert Dogs Grooming offers at-your-door service within Van Horn as well as travelling to Marfa every Saturday to perform the services in a fully contained mobile groom shop. She will soon be adding a day in Pecos.
Lupa began her career as a pet groomer almost 12 years ago after taking a part-time job as a bather at a corporate pet store. She knew right away this was the career for her, and she sought out mentors and opportunities to hone her newfound skills. Over the years, she has attended trade shows, worked in various settings and has even competed in grooming contests.
Now that she’s living in the beautiful high desert of far West Texas she has to be a little more creative in her business. “Lucky for me,†Lupa said. “My daughter fell in love with both dog grooming and the desert. She also fell in love with a boy from England complicating things a bit, but the good news is that we are teaming up and she’s bringing him to Texas.â€
Lupa’s daughter has invested in this fantastic mobile unit and while she’s gone back to England to sort the details of moving to the states again, Lupa will be working hard to build the business. She is a skilled groomer in her own right and I look forward to our mother-daughter team reuniting.
That would be enough of a fairytale story, but there’s more. “This van we found by chance is the very one that I learned to groom in back in Atlanta all those years ago. It has been lovingly maintained in Phoenix by its second owner, who recently upgraded to a newer van and listed this one for sale.â€
If you would like to schedule an appointment, please call or text Lupa with Desert Dogs at 432-279-0725,
