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By Ayanna Eckblad

After graduating from Albert Lea High School, Madi Fleek had decisions to make regarding what career she wanted to go into.

A dog owner herself, Fleek said she loved animals since she was little and wanted to pursue a career where she could work with them.

“I thought, ‘Why not go to grooming school?’” Fleek said.

Fleek studied dog grooming at Rio Grooming School in Hastings. Following graduation in May, she decided to return to Albert Lea to start a dog grooming business in the area.

“I thought that it would just be a cool thing to just start something out on my own and see what happened from there,” Fleek said. In August, she opened Madi’s Mutts Grooming.

“It’s been really great so far,” she said.

Madi’s Mutts Grooming offers full haircuts, baths and brush and nail trims to dogs of all kinds. In fact, Fleek said that seeing the variety of dogs she gets to work with is her favorite part of the job.

“I think that … helping out local businesses is just a really great thing to do,” Fleek said. “We really love the support and love that we get to support little businesses.”

Fleek currently has three dogs of her own, two labrador retrievers and a doodle.

Madi’s Mutts Grooming is at 726 W. Fountain St. in Albert Lea, and can be reached by phone at 507-402-7090 or by email at mmuttsgrooming@gmail.com.