Groomer's pet project is mobile business

By GINGER MIKKELSEN

VIEW STAFF WRITER

Tomy Maugeri has cut, shaped and styled for the stars -- or at least their dogs. The Sunrise Mountain resident has groomed Liza Minnelli's dog Lilly, Regis Philbin's cat, the Trump poodles and Maria Carry's Jack Russell terrier.

Maugeri started grooming animals when he was only 15. Since then he has clipped fur in New York, Rome, Miami and for the last few years in Las Vegas.

Two months ago, Maugeri started his own mobile dog-grooming business -- Sunshine Groomers. The 27-year-old entrepreneur does doggy hairdos all over Southern Nevada, from Summerlin to Anthem and from Boulder City to North Las Vegas.

Maugeri's base of operations is a bright yellow retrofitted van.

"I invested all the money I had in the van, which wasn't much," Maugeri said.

The van is fitted with a 150-foot extension cord, which is plugged in at each pet owner's home. Inside there is a grooming table, a full-sized bath tub, a 65-gallon water tank and a 4-gallon electric water heater that circulates so water comes out warm in the tub. Plus there is a 35-gallon wastewater tank so soapy water doesn't go out into the street.

There are two hoses coming out of the van wall, one to vacuum pet hair from the linoleum floor and the other to hand blow-dry wet pet hair.

There are no holding or drying cages inside the Sunshine Groomer van, but there is a neck loop to keep animals still during grooming. Maugeri said he tries to avoid using the "noose" since he believes animals behave better when they don't feel trapped by restraints.

Maugeri started out in New York as a veterinarian's assistant and then moved into dog grooming. He traveled to Rome to study art and ended up grooming in an Italian shop.

He moved to Las Vegas and worked at a few shops before deciding to go out on his own. Mobile grooming is his favorite way to do business.

"I like driving and I enjoy grooming, so I thought I would combine them both," Maugeri said.

He thought about opening a mobile grooming business in his native New York, but the city lacks adequate parking and electrical outlets. Maugeri decided to try Las Vegas on the advice of friend.

"He said `Come here to Las Vegas, it's fantastic," and I went for it," Maugeri said.

Maugeri is staking his future in his customers' love for convenience. He is convinced most people don't want to pack a dog up and take it to a groomer.

"Especially in summer time with the heat, forget about it," Maugeri said.

Jennifer Margison used to take her cocker spaniel Bandit to a traditional groomer, but now she prefers Maugeri's services.

"I used to drop (Bandit) off and he would spend four or five hours in a cage. He never had a good time. Now he gets right in, he's cleaned up in an hour and a half or less and he's a happy boy."

The Summerlin resident said she noticed right away there was chemistry between Maugeri and Bandit.

"He is a gentle person and dogs seem to take to him," Margison said.

Bandit is 11 years old, has a bad back and likes to be pampered. Maugeri's business is still small enough that he knows these details about all of his customers.

If a dog is nervous, Maugeri spends time visiting with it or playing with it on the front lawn before bringing it into the van. The groomer even invites wary customers out to the van to watch him work, and dogs reward the groomer for his patient work with plenty of puppy kisses.

Diann Prezioso said Maugeri is a godsend for her Lhasa Apso mix Luigi. The dog spent four weeks in a kennel while Prezioso worked out the logistics of her move to Las Vegas. When she picked Luigi up, he was a wreck.

The kennel time left a lasting memory for Luigi. Every time the New York native would take her dog to the groomer, he would be placed in a cage and shake the entire time.

"No one would say we'll do him at 2 p.m. They would say leave him all day. The fact that you can have an appointment with Tomy is wonderful," Prezioso said.

Now Luigi's grooming time is a pleasure.

"They go have a wonderful hour together," Prezioso said. "He's a terrific young man, very earnest and hard working. We just think he's the best."

Maugeri isn't just a groomer; he's a pet owner, as well. He adopted two abandoned dogs -- Sophie, a Maltese, and Gizzy, a rare cross between a fox and a Chihuahua.

Gizzy was dehydrated and down to her bones when Maugeri found her tied to a radiator in Harlem. He had her in the animal hospital for a week.

"She was a tiny little thing," Maugeri said. "Now she's 13 pounds, a little porker."

For more information about Sunshine Groomers, call Maugeri at 319-6889.