Barkside Pet Grooming pampers pups in Valdese

Markie James has always had a heart for animals. “My parents have pictures of me in diapers sitting inside of the doghouse with the puppies,” she said. 

Now, James gets to play with puppies every day in her Valdese business, Barkside Pet Grooming. The shop is the realization of a dream born of an entrepreneurial spirit cultivated at a local college.

Barkside Pet Grooming is located at 132 Main St. E in Valdese. James and her team of groomers offer a variety of services for area pet owners. The staff grooms both dogs and cats. 

The lobby of her business is filled with certificates and plaques, along with pictures of her award-winning dogs. James not only competes in grooming shows, but she is also renowned as a speaker at grooming conferences. 

In September, James won the Barkley Honors Up and Coming Speaker of the Year award. She compares that honor to an Oscar in the grooming world.

“I’m really proud of that one,” she stated. “The voting was done by my peers, but the nominations were based on speaker evaluations.”

James regularly teaches courses at grooming conventions. “I do one about Yorkie trims,” she said. “They are my favorite dogs to work on, especially the spicy ones.”

She also teaches a course entitled, “Bad” Dogs Deserve to be Cute Too. “I put ‘bad’ in quotation marks,” she said, “because really, there are no bad dogs.”

In the past, the animal lover volunteered to work with wildlife organizations and did a stint as an employee in a veterinarian's office, but she found that job was not for her. 

“I have a soft heart when it comes to animals,” she said, “so I didn’t last long in a vet setting. My heart couldn’t take it.”

James instead focused her career sights on graphic design and enrolled at Catawba Valley Community College. Her potential caught the attention of her instructors at CVCC and James was asked to join the school’s Entrepreneurial Team. 

Along with three other students, she designed a campaign and business plan for a fictional grooming salon for the Skills, USA competition, an annual event showcasing America’s most highly skilled career and technical education students.

The presentation won gold at the state competition and then picked up a gold award at nationals. There, James received some advice that changed her life.

“The judges were CEOs of multi-million dollar corporations, and they looked me in the eye and said, ‘You should do this (open the salon). This is a very valid business idea.’

“That’s what pushed me,” she added. “And it was all because of CVCC. I owe them a lot.”

James took that advice and opened her own salon in the basement of her home five years ago. As her client list grew, so did her need for a larger workspace. 

After doing some marketing research, James settled on a storefront in downtown Valdese.

“I never thought I’d own a business,” she stated, “but the town was so welcoming and encouraging. They said ‘We want you here.’”

James and her shop have flourished in the four years she has worked on Main Street. Grooming appointments are booked on the hour at 9 a.m., 11 a.m., and 1 p.m. each day. Visitors to the establishment can expect to find James and her crew “jamming out” to music while tending to their canine clients.

Barkside Pet Grooming’s staff includes James, receptionist Jodi Ford, and groomers Heather Kocourek, Kim Moore, Maria Auer, Tori Mims, and traveling groomer Meg Ioffredo, who does an annual stint at the shop. 

This local lady hasn’t forgotten those who helped her climb the ladder of success. She and her crew give back to the community in a number of ways. They participate each year in the Burke County Animal Services “Pet Angel Tree” event, a program that has proven a great success.

“The first year we did it, we had a carload of supplies,” James said. “And the past few years, we’ve delivered three cars full.” The business pairs a dog- and cat-food drive with the angel tree project. Those who bring in food donations receive a free teeth cleaning for a pet. 

James and her husband, Mark, have a 12-year-old son, Dresden, and four dogs of their own. She has found her calling in the work she does.

When asked about her favorite part of her job, James smiled. “There are moments when a dog will look up at you and say thank you with its eyes,” she said. 

“The vet sees your pet once or twice a year,” she said. “But we see your pets on a regular basis, every four or six weeks.

“Our hands are on them, we feel lumps and bumps,” she said. “We get very attached. We build relationships with our clients. Our dogs are our clients.”

James said she will never take her business for granted. 

“Every day I’m surprised that this is mine,” she said. “I had a lot of people along the way encouraging me, a lot of people believing in me when I didn't believe in myself.” 

Barkside Pet Grooming is open Tuesday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. They are closed the last Saturday of each month.

They can be reached at 828-391-9433.

Sandra Wilkerson Queen is the education and business reporter for The Paper. She may be reached at 828-445-8595 or via email at sandra@thepaper.media.