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Biz Buzz shares business tidbits from across the tri-states. This edition highlights developments in Dubuque and Fennimore, Wis.
A Dubuque dog-training business is celebrating 25 years with a recent expansion of space and services.
That’s My Dog!, a comprehensive canine center on Wolff Road, first opened in 1998 and is known for its training, boarding and doggy day care services. It recently added a second location and expanded services to include grooming.
The business this weekend will host an open house to mark the milestone anniversary and to celebrate the new space. The event will take place from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Nov. 4, at 5110 Wolff Road and is open to current clients and the public.
“We’ve been blessed to have Dubuque be very supportive of our business,” said owner Sherry Moore. “The foundation has always been dog training, but (that support) has meant we have been able to grow and evolve to add other services, too.”
Moore, a former veterinary assistant, purchased That’s My Dog! in 2022 after serving as general manager of the business since 2016. She also was a longtime client of the business, using its training and puppy socialization services since 2002.
“We really want our owners and dogs to experience the world together, … and we offer a variety of different (training) programs to help with that,” she said. “We always want to consider the needs of the dog and what the owners want to get from that training.”
Consistent and growing demand for those services has necessitated several expansions over time, Moore added. The new location allowed for the recent addition of grooming, for example, which was added in response to customer requests.
The new building, located across the street from the first, will house the business’ training classes and grooming services while the original building will continue to host boarding and day care services.
“We’re always listening,” Moore said. “We want to give clients what they want, and what’s nice is we’re now a multilevel service facility, so we can almost be a one-stop shop.”
More information about That’s My Dog! can be found online at thatsmydog.com or by emailing contact@thatsmydog.com. The business also posts frequent updates and puppy pictures on its Facebook page.
Medical spa opens in SW Wisconsin
A new medical spa has opened in southwest Wisconsin with a focus on offering advanced skin care techniques in a warm, welcoming environment.
Glimmer Medical Spa opened last month at 770 Lincoln Ave. in Fennimore, Wis., under the tutelage of family nurse practitioner Marissa Lynch, a graduate of the nursing program at nearby Southwest Wisconsin Technical College.
The spa offers a variety of aesthetic and medical services, including dermal fillers, microneedling, Botox treatments and more.
“It’s something that’s more unique to this area,” Lynch said. “But I’m excited to build those relationships with clients and help them feel good.”
Some of the services the spa offers are more well-known, such as neurotoxin treatments including Botox that can assist in treating fine lines and wrinkles in the skin, or muscle stiffness such as that associated with grinding teeth.
Others are perhaps less recognizable to southwest Wisconsin clients, Lynch said, such as platelet-rich plasma services, which uses plasma-rich injections to rejuvenate skin or promote hair growth.
To provide each of those services, Lynch received training at National Laser Institute of Chicago, and she said each is aimed at promoting self-care and rejuvenation.
“Sometimes, I think there’s a stigma, especially in a rural area, about doing things for yourself,” she said. “So I want to provide that judgment-free space for people to put themselves first.”
A complete list of current services and booking information can be found online at glimmermedicalspa.com. The spa also can be reached by email at glimmermedicalspa@gmail.com and followed on Facebook.
Autism clinic debuts in Dubuque
A new clinic focused on early intervention strategies for autistic children and their families has opened in Dubuque.
Caravel Autism Health recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new location at 2055 Holliday Drive. In addition to the Dubuque location, Caravel also has clinics in Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana, Washington and Idaho.
The Dubuque clinic is focused on providing early intervention and diagnosis services for young children ages 2 through 5, said clinic director and behavior analyst Hannah Bechen, with a select number of spots for older kids.
“We really are trying to focus on early intervention because that’s where the research shows that the earlier kids get these services, the better outcomes they have,” Bechen said.
The clinic offers evaluation, diagnosis and one-on-one treatment services for autistic children with an emphasis on applied behavior analysis, a method of therapy focused on bolstering life skills.
For young kids, Bechen said that often means helping bolster social skills and preparing them for the transition into a formal school environment. It also can include working with the children to lessen problematic behaviors such as aggression or self injury.
Parents or guardians are engaged throughout the therapeutic process to ensure they can help guide a child toward positive behaviors in a nonclinical environment, Bechen added.
“Anything they learn with us, we want to make sure they can do it with the parents, too, and that the parents feel confident in facilitating those skills,” she explained.
Part of the Dubuque clinic’s goal is to help alleviate long wait times currently facing families with kids who have autism spectrum disorder or are suspected to.
Bechen said those wait times currently can stretch months for Dubuque area families — if not up to a year — which significantly delays treatment timelines.
The Caravel clinic is meant to alleviate that stress by increasing the number of local providers and appointments for local services. When fully staffed, Bechen said, the Dubuque location can host roughly 24 clients at one time.
“We’re really excited to provide a service that has not had as many opportunities available in the past for children in the area,” Bechen said. “… We never want to change our clients or what makes them (who they are), but we do want to help give them the skills they need to succeed.”
More information about the Caravel Autism Services Dubuque clinic can be found online at caravelautism.com. Parents can also reach the new patient intake line at 563-293-5683.