Meet Mary Edwards
Our Story
Mary Edwards has always had a love for animals. Growing up in Greenbank on Whidbey Island, she wanted to be a vet, got involved with 4-H and her dog Charlie (an American Cocker Spaniel mix), and helped her aunt at AKC dog shows doing Junior Handling.
Her grooming journey began when her parents bought her a show-bred American Cocker Spaniel. She was mostly self-taught, learning from books and videos with guidance from her aunt, then grew her skills working at a kennel in Oak Harbor before moving into two veterinary offices, where she learned medical grooming and became a Certified Fear-Free Groomer. That veterinary-based background grounded her in the ability to work with very difficult or anxious pets.
After six years at her last veterinary office, Mary came back to the island and worked at a salon for five years before deciding she needed a different environment, not just for herself but for the clients who needed a little extra care. She started with a 1979 Ford van for mobile grooming and never looked back.
As demand grew, Mary found the perfect small space to open a shop, giving clients the same one-on-one environment the mobile service gives, at a lower cost. Her daughter Maryah, who already knew the basics from showing dogs alongside her mom, runs much of the day-to-day shop work today with a small team of groomers.
Why Choose Us
A Certified Fear-Free Shop
The Paww Spa is a certified fear-free shop. We practice one-on-one grooming and avoid kenneling unless there is an aggression issue, and we can work with a dog from needing full sedation for grooming down to tolerating it with slight or no sedation at all. We work with anxious pets as a team with their owners, not around them.