About Us

Marilyn Motter & Ellen Panchula - Owners

While thinking of a career change, the idea of working with animals was exciting. So in June of 1991, Marilyn attended the Maryland School of Dog Grooming in Silver Spring, Maryland. Following graduation, seven years were spent putting her grooming skills to work at area pet stores.

The decision to have her own shop came in November, 1998. In a storefront location at 22423 Jefferson Blvd., Smithsburg, Maryland, Just For Dogs, Inc. opened; a full service grooming shop providing dogs with baths haircuts and nail trims. With increasing clientele and seeing the need to offer customers more, the idea to renovate the shop and include a retail section came two years later. One side of the store was the style salon and on the other, connected by an adjacent walk-through, the Pet Lovers' Gift Shop was born. The retail section offered traditional pet supplies such as collars, leashes, shampoos, brushes and toys for the pampered pets. But specializing in items for the pet lover, creating the store's own niche, seemed like the best way to go.

Marilyn brought her sister, Ellen on board as a partner to manage the retail operation. Starting our part-time and then after retiring from teaching Ellen now runs the gift shop full time.

The shop started selling dog flags, featuring illustrations of man's best friend. The gift shop soon expanded its inventory to include doormats, mugs, tapestry throws, key chains, tote bags and more. Just For Dogs, Inc. cornered the local market on dog-novelty.

Ellen and Marilyn are both dedicated to assisting customers by having the best quality and affordable pet product selection available.

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