Alexandria is known to have many car washes, but did you know it also has a dog wash?
Central Pawk Dog Wash is a self-service kiosk where dog owners can take their furry friends for a $15, 20-minute bath with a swipe of a card. The kiosk offers different shampoo solutions, condition and deodorizer options and flea and tick treatments.
The dog wash is owned by veterans Mitchell Leigh and David Hiser, who met while serving in the U.S. Navy. Originally, the business partners wanted to open an indoor dog park modeled after the outdoor RJ Wags dog park in Newtown, Ohio, but that came with a price tag of over $1 million.
Leigh said he started looking into other options, and the kiosk model was something new to the Northern Kentucky area. There are pet stores where animal owners can take their pets to be groomed, but the dog wash is self-contained and self-managed.
The dog wash opened on April 1, 2023, and the first customer was Newport resident Kathy McCormick.
“I like it because usually when you wash a dog, your bathroom gets dirty, and there’s hair all over the place, and then you have to end up cleaning your bathroom up,” said McCormick. “So, I like taking the dog out somewhere and also having all the shampoos because then you don’t have to buy those and keep them at home.”
The dog wash is fully ADA-compliant, so everything operates on the same ground level. It is also suitable for senior dogs or very large dogs that can easily walk into the kiosk. Customers can wash their smaller dogs in a tub or their large dogs on the floor.
“We just had a customer who came in with a mastiff, and she called and said she cannot get her dog into a groomer because he’s too big,” Leigh said.
He said that the customer sent an email a couple of days later saying she loved it and that they had driven about 20 miles to use the dog wash.
“It’s so easy on dogs—you can’t shoehorn a mastiff into one of those little pet wash beds at pet stores,” Leigh said.
Hiser said he has received calls from people wanting to bring pets to the kiosk, from their cat to their goat. He said they are welcome if the animals can fit through the door.
“It’s designed really efficiently,” McCormick said. “You can just go from shampoo to deodorizer to flea shampoo within 10 seconds.”
Once the dog is washed, a hose blows hot air over its fur to help remove most of the water.
For being a good dog, the kiosk has a treat vending machine that switches flavors for the various seasons. Central Pawk Dog Wash gets its treats from Brewhaus Bakery & Dog Bones, a local nonprofit that helps individuals with disabilities have meaningful learning and work opportunities.
Leigh said the business also tries to stay involved in the community. It holds events like Alexandria’s Dog Day in the park, where it pitches a tent, gives away treats and talks about the business. It is also sponsoring a local soccer team this year.
The kiosk does roughly 110 washes a month.
Hiser said the feedback from the community has been amazing.
“Everybody’s been very welcoming, and we get good compliments,” Hiser said. “Any of the events that we attended in Alexandria or even in Cold Spring, the head of those organizations will tell us really appreciate our business being in the area, so we’re definitely trying to stay that way.”
Both Leigh and Hiser said they would like to expand in the future.
The dog wash is located at 6 Viewpoint Drive in Alexandria.