A new pet grooming shop has opened on Cowdenbeath High Street - with the owner previously having started out at the other end of the same street.

Sheila Venters, 68, is delighted to be operating so close to the site of her original premises.

She said: “I’ve been in the grooming business for 48 years and opened my first shop 40 years ago on one end of the high street, and now I’ve opened another one at the other end. It seems perfect that I opened my first and last in Cowdenbeath.”

The new shop - Sheila’s Dog & Cat Beautician - is located at 265 High Street and is proving popular with both old and new customers, since it opened on Thursday, January 4.

Sheila said: “It’s been extremely busy, but I’ve had great support from Cowdenbeath. I moved my shop from Dunfermline to here so I’ve got a lot of returning customers. I’ve got loads of bookings all the way up to March and even have some later ones as far away as June!”

It may say dog and cat on the sign outside, but Sheila’s shop welcomes all kinds of animals. In the first few days, she's had guinea pigs and rabbits in the shop.

It’s been an incredibly challenging time for Sheila in recent years, having battled both cancer and sepsis.

Sheila said: “I just keep bouncing back. Grooming is really my passion and I travel all over to do it. I think it keeps me going.”

The shop is a family affair too as Sheila’s grand-daughter Abi is helping out and is learning to become a groomer herself.

Sheila explained: “Abi is in her second year of learning to groom. She does all the bathing and the drying and I do the grooming. This year she’ll be moving on to grooming, and she’ll take over the shop when I eventually retire.”

Sheila is incredibly pleased with the positive response to the shop, especially considering the effort that has gone into bringing it all together, adding: “I’d like to say a huge thank you to Lynne Mullen as she has been brilliant throughout this. She did all the interior design for the shop, and I couldn’t be happier with how it’s turned out.”

Alongside the grooming services, the shop also offers pet grooming products. Find out more at Sheila’s Dog & Cat Beautician, 265 High Street, Cowdenbeath, or call 07486 470812.