FLEMING ISLAND – Dog hair has been a part of Mary Hardin’s wardrobe for as long as she can remember. Now she is paid to wear it.

That’s because Hardin has just put the finishing touches on Fleming Island’s first doggie bakery and salon. Dubbed ‘Woof Gang Bakery & Grooming,’ Hardin hopes to turn the bakery into a safe haven for pets and likeminded pet owners.

Hardin will hold the grand opening for her shop Oct. 29 starting at 10 a.m. with fundraisers for local shelters and other events.

Woof Gang Bakery is a leading specialty retailer of pet food, pet-related supplies and pet grooming, with more than 70 locations across the U.S. There, pet owners can get there dog a ‘pawdicure,’ or a ‘pupcake’ among other treats owners can pamper their pets with.

“A lot of people are very passionate about their pets their not pets, they’re family members and we thought we could have a place where people could show their appreciation for their pets.”

Located at 1960 East West Parkway, Currently, it’s already in a soft opening phase and operating normal business hours, but the grand opening will give the shop a chance to introduce itself properly to the community.

The bakery kicks off the day with an adoption event by Safe Animal Shelter and Friends of Clay County Animals with adoptable rescues. The first 20 pets to walk through the door will get free gourmet treats for a year as part of their grand opening as well.

All of their dog treats are made with human-grade ingredients. Some are baked in house while some are baked in corporate bakeries and overnighted to the store. There’s something for every dog, however. Their dry dog food ranges from $12.99 a bag all the way to $100 a bag.

Mary said she also consults with pet owners on how best to deal with pet-based allergies.

“Our goal is to really kind of help and improve the health and happiness of the dogs in Clay County,” Mary said. “We’re big advocates for animal rescue and we believe in giving back to the community, so we’ll be hosting a lot of fundraisers for our local shelters and rescue and we’re very involved in a lot of volunteering. We’re hoping we’ll improve the lives of dogs in Clay County.”

At the appropriately named ‘paw spa’ located in the back of the store, groomers can care for animals one on one instead of the assembly line style of dog grooming Mary has seen at other corporate stores.

“We’re not a typical grooming shop, we treat the dogs here like they’re our own, so they get very gentle handling,” Mary said. “That’s one of the things we pride ourselves on, safe, gentle handling of dogs. We don’t treat them like cattle and move them through.”

Paw spa is a full service grooming station, complete with booking appointments and even cage free grooming to reduce the anxiety levels of dogs who despise cages. When that doesn’t work, her Shih Tzu Kona comforts dogs by standing next to them to help them calm down.

Mary and her husband Pete occupy themselves with the local rescue community, such as the no-kill Safe Animal Shelter where they both serve on the Board of Directors.

Their dogs outnumber them two to one. Between the two of them, they have Shih Tzu’s named Kona, Suki and Maggie and a Puggle, named Starbucks. So for Mary, having a job where she can love dogs all day is almost like having no job at all.

For the last 20 years, Mary worked in the corporate banking world of mergers, buyouts and layoffs. She wanted to get out of that world, so now that she is a franchise owner, she finally can.

“It was time to do something that I could use my skills with banking and finance and combine my passion for fogs, so I’ve been very involved with animal rescue and have dogs of my own, so it was a nice blend.”