New Self-Serve Dog Wash Lets Owners Pamper Their Pooches

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Snow, salt and slush combine to make a dog very dirty.

But how can you hose him off, with temperatures way below freezing?

Some dog owners find the answer at Woody's Self-Serve Dog Wash in South Park. Anna Villa's puppy, Otis, hops right into one of the boutique's four large tubs. His owner begins to shower him with warm spray, mixed with "oatmeal" shampoo.

"If I try to put him in the bathtub at home when we need an emergency bath," she says, "and I have to stick him in water, he jumps out and the bathroom's soaked and so much water's on the floor and it leaks into the basement. It's a mess."

Owner Ann Cipriani says her shop is named for a dog she once owned named Woody.

"When I used to drop my dogs off to get baths, they were scared," she recalls. "I had to drag them in, and they were there all day. And I really love the idea of staying with your dog, just having a place to do a bath."

Otis is dried off with a towel and a powerful hair dryer. Finally, to keep the ice and salt off, he gets a coating of special wax on his paws.

It's all part of a doggone good wash at Woody's.

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