The Owners
Mike and Nancy opened Pawsh in October 2008….met in 1996, were married in 2006 and only five months later had their first child – a Boston Terrier named Balki. Soon after they brought Balki home in January 2007 they realized there was nowhere in the Back Bay to buy food, treats, toys and unique accessories. The pair set out to fill that void by creating a chic boutique and grooming salon offering a variety of healthy, practical and fun options for dogs and their owners.
Punky joined the pack in July of 2018 and was Balki's best buddy until Balki passed in November of 2020. More on Balki at the bottom of this page.
Originally intending to become a veterinarian, Mike has held a variety of positions in the industry and the medical field, including as an educational intern for the Philadelphia Zoo, lab manager at Harvard Medical School, and veterinary technician at Angell Memorial in Boston. He decided against veterinary school but is now living his dream surrounded by dogs every day at Pawsh.
Nancy was born into a dog family. Even before dog clothing went mainstream, she was dressing up her childhood dog, Biscuit, like one of her dolls. Prior to opening Pawsh, Nancy worked in public relations for 10 years. She is thrilled to be in a position at Pawsh to give back to dogs just as Biscuit, Balki & Punky have given her so much.
Groomers
Jenny
From New Hartford, Connecticut, Jenny has grown up as an avid animal lover. Although Jenny has been grooming for more than 15 years, she originally studied interior design and hotel management for wedding planning. Through college, Jenny became a pet sitter and dog walker which inspired her passion to become a dog groomer. She later graduated from the prestigious Connecticut School of Dog Grooming in 2006. Jenny has previous experience grooming in Brookline until she joined Pawsh in 2012 as a stellar groomer. She specializes in making all the dogs comfortable with hugs and kisses as well as utilizing creative hair accessories and bows to make each pup feel special and beautiful. Away from the grooming room, Jenny enjoys gardening and arts and crafts.
Brian
Brian has been grooming and showing dogs his whole life. At the young age of 12, Brian showed his first dog, a Bernese Mountain Dog, and has successfully continued into the competitive world of dog shows. He won the 2019 Barkleigh Honors Award for Up and Coming Groomer of the Year. Under several mentors and professional dog handlers, Brian has excelled in grooming and joined the Pawsh team in August 2019. He specializes in the strenuous technique of Hand Stripping and grooming Poodles. Brian has Ryker, a retired Standard Poodle. In his free time, Brian loves to go to the beach and be in the sun.
Jordan
Coming all the way from Nekoosa, Wisconsin, Jordan joined the Pawsh team in May 2021. Jordan initially studied biology and psychology in Wisconsin before pursuing dog grooming. She has been in the dog world for 12 years working her way up as a kennel attendant to an assistant and bather and finally to a groomer. Attending and graduating in 2016 from Wisconsin School of Professional Grooming, Jordan had one of the highest honors in the school and has the record of most dogs groomed during her education. Jordan specializes in implementing creativity in the aesthetics of her grooming. She has repeatedly said, “I love what I do, I love to improve,” and hopes to begin competing in shows in the future. Jordan also enjoys traveling and seeing dogs all over the country.
Magdalena
Despite growing up with cats, Magdalena is an avid dog-lover. Originally wanting to be a vet tech, she switched to grooming in 2013 and graduated from Pet Smart's Grooming Academy. Though she loves all dogs of all sizes and barks, she holds a special place for Shih-Tzu's. After a day of grooming, Magdalena especially enjoys reading a good book.
Bathers
In Memory Of Our Friends
Balki the Boss-ton Terrier
Balki has lived his life😇. He passed peacefully in his bed after spending time in his favorite sunny spot in the backyard.
We want to thank him for everything. All the puppy playtime and snuggling on the couch. All the great neighbors (people & dogs) we've met because of him during our thousands of walks together. This dog store in Boston with his face all over it😊. The compassion and responsibility he helped wrangle out of us before the human kids came along. Teaching Punky, his street dog sister, the rules of the house a few years ago. There's so much more but that's enough for now.
Life won't be the same without you, Balki. But that's the deal you make when you get a dog. A million parts fantastic in exchange for one terrible day.
He was with us for over 5,000 days...we cherish each one. Balki the Boston Terrier (friend, big brother, good boy, bad boy, grump, amazing creature, love of our lives).
NOVEMBER 11, 2006 - NOVEMBER 29, 2020
PS: I hope he finds the 🌈 bridge, pees on it, and keeps going to a place where we might meet up with him later.😘😘😘
Abbie the Old English Sheepdog
When Jenny first started grooming at Pawsh back in 2012 we welcomed with her a huge grey & white Muppet of a dog that didn't want to stay in the grooming room with her mom. Instead, Abbie chose a cozy little corner spot in front of the toys, plopped herself down and proceeded to endear herself to our customers and their dogs for the last 8+ years.
In the beginning she would herd people and dogs if they got out of hand in the store. If you made eye contact with her she would hop up and nose bop you right in the crotch to let you know she wanted attention or a treat. But when the store got busy and we couldn't really keep an eye on her, she would quietly retreat to her toy corner.
As the years passed she got up less often from her bed, but as soon as you made eye contact with her in those human eyes, she had you...and she would would throw a mini tantrum until a treat ended up in her mouth accompanied by a loving pat on her head.
She never showed aggression, she never tried to leave the store, she was the best Sheep ever. Part of me wants to cave and get angry at 2020 for taking away Abbie just three weeks after Balki but that would be a disservice to all the years we got to enjoy those spectacular dogs. We had them, they lived full lives, we loved them completely....it's their absence that makes it so hard.
So we apologize in advance that your greeting at Pawsh will be a little different. But we will always see our friend Abbie when we look at her little corner smack dab in front of the toys.
Abbie the Old English Sheepdog. Rest well, good girl.