A place to pamper your pooch with toenail painting and high-end food opened over the weekend in Homer Glen.
“I have a passion for animals,” said Gabriella Lamorte, owner of K-9 Couture at 15744 S. Bell Road.
This is the first store for the 23-year-old, who graduated from college with a major in marketing in 2013. She then went to grooming school and has business ownership exposure as a daughter of the owners of Italia Imports in Orland Park.
Lamorte’s dream in high school was to become a vet or have her own grooming shop and she ended up choosing the latter, she said.
“I’m really allergic to cats,” Lamorte said, explaining that she chose to focus the store only on canines, which she especially loves.
She’s the owner of three canines — beagle Brandy Lynn, English setter Lilly and German shorthaired pointer Trigger. An experience a few years ago with Trigger, who suffered health problems caused by food allergies, inspired her to carry American-made high-end dog food, Lamorte said.
“They help with dogs who have allergies,” Lamorte said of the food with “easier to digest” protein alternatives to chicken and beef. Those alternatives include buffalo, pheasant, salmon and venison.
Shampoos used for grooming are also made in the United States and made of natural ingredients. There are holiday scents, such as gingerbread, pumpkin and peppermint, along with other options such as hypoallergenic and oatmeal.
A full-service grooming area offers baths, massage, drying and brushing, styling to the owners request, ear cleaning, a paw pad hair trim, a nail trim and a bow or bandanna, Lamorte said. In addition, services such as flea baths, teeth brushing, hair color dyeing and toenail painting are available, she said, adding that she can even give a dog a mohawk if desired.
While some items still may be on order, K-9 couture also offers collars, leashes, toys, treats, brushes, bowls, shirts and sweaters, Lamorte said. She doubts she’ll carry dog costumes this year because her opening was so close to Halloween.
K-9 Couture is open for grooming and purchases 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sundays and is closed Tuesdays, Lamorte said.