Today we’d like to introduce you to Macie McCracken.
Hi Macie, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
Hello! So this has been quite the journey, and it ends with a full circle moment if you will.
About ten years ago, I was a student at El Centro College, and my aunt, uncle, and cousins opened up a pet supply store in Downton Dallas, right up the street from my school. They needed a dog walker, and though I had almost no experience with dogs, I was excited to take on the role. It was a great time working in downtown, but when I was done with school and transferred to UNT, I had to move on.
I needed a job, though, and ended up landing a bather position at a PetSmart due to my experience as a dog walker.
I wasn’t really looking to become a bather or groomer, but they were the first offer I got, and I took it in a heartbeat.
PetSmart ended up sending me to grooming School, and I became a pet groomer, which I continued all through university, and after getting my bachelor’s degree in religion, I still continued to be a pet groomer.
In 2018 I had a daughter and spent three years as a stay-at-home Mom. Unfortunately, things in life don’t always go the way you imagine, and I went through a divorce in 2021/22. Because of this, I went back to work at a pet salon full-time. The transition from stay-at-home mom to full-time single mom was a difficult one to say the least, but things normalized for my daughter and I, and I had a new dream in life, which was to make my daughter’s life as good and comfortable as I possibly could on my own.
At the end of 2022, I saw a space open up in downtown that was perfect for going out on my own.
And which space was it? Low and behold, the one I was a dog walker at almost a decade before.
It took more than six months from when I first looked at the space to get to where we are now, which saw opening day on July 31st, 2023!
The Paw Spa is the future for my daughter and I and we’ve already met so many amazing humans in our new community of Downtown Dallas.
We are a luxury pet spa and boutique and Dallas’ first all-natural grooming salon.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Getting the space was an absolute struggle! I needed help from a lot of people and am grateful for it all. It felt like every process, which in my mind I thought would take a few days and ended up taking weeks.
The space was also a wreck. It was unoccupied for nearly a year and was a mess to say the least!
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about The Paw Spa?
The Paw Spa is a luxury pet spa and boutique in the heart of downtown Dallas. We specialize in all-breed dog and cat grooming, and we are Dallas’ first all-natural grooming salon. The pet industry and pet products, especially for grooming, are widely unregulated and filled with horrible chemicals. We don’t use anything harmful in our salon.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
So, I have this memory as a child that I will never forget. It was Christmas Day, and my parents; siblings, and I were driving out of town to my grandparents’ home. They are country folk, so the drive is composed mostly of highway and grass-filled fields. I had a moment that day, my family, the minivan, Christmas music, the highway buzz when I had the thought that I wanted to remember this moment forever. I felt safe.
We were all together, and it felt like in that moment, nothing could get in.
Ugh, it sounds weird, but I will always remember how I felt.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.pawspadallas.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/pawspadallas
- Facebook: Facebook.com/pawspadallas
Image Credits
Dawn and Duke Photography
