Duke and Dutchess Pet Center and Grooming opened it’s doors in 1977 at 7345 Miami Lakes Dr. in Cypress Village as one of the first retailers for the town of Miami Lakes. The shop was opened by Peggy Rosenson who was a well known presence in the community. She ran the shop with the help of her daughter Randi Rosenson and toward the latter part of Peggy’s life, with the help of family friend Lori Wetzel who would become the new owner in 1995 after Peggy’s passing.
The shop’s storied history is one filled with heartache and joy as Randi Rosenson and Wetzel experienced the highs and lows of life within the walls of Duke and Dutchess. On Wetzel’s first day at the shop, at Rosenson’s urging she greeted the first customer, Bill, the man who would later become Wetzel’s husband. The two were high school sweethearts 12 years prior and reconnected on that fateful day.
Wetzel and Rosenson also experienced the loss of their mothers, and later the passing of Bill Wetzel in 2011 after a long battle with cancer. However, Wetzel and Rosenson remained close through the passing decades and found happiness in their shop, their furry clients, and new life with the birth of Wetzel’s two children.
“A lot of heartache and happiness have happened here,” said a pensive Wetzel. “This is so much of our life, this is all we know.”
“It’s the only way we know how to be,” agreed Rosenson.
In continuing with tradition and a hometown feel, Wetzel and Rosenson don’t use in-store computers preferring instead to build relationships with clients. Many of their clients are regular visitors and some are third and fourth generation clients.
“We don’t do computers,” said Wetzel. “We talk in person or over the phone. I want to know our clients. My computer doesn’t know you, I know you. We ask about vacations, we follow up about family pets, and our clients know our whole life story,” said Wetzel.
Duke and Dutchess has a third, smaller and furrier shop presence. His name is Nacho, the store’s official greeter, and Wetzel’s dog.
Wetzel, Rosenson and Nacho are so well known and regarded, hardly a person walks by without a knowing wave or greeting. While reminiscing about the store’s past, a young woman stopped by to greet them and update them that her lost dog had been found. Rosenson happily tore the “Lost Dog” sign from the shop’s window with the news.
“It’s that old school kind of family thing that shops don’t have anymore,” said Rosenson. “We get to know people here on a first-name basis.”
Working in a pet grooming store in comes as no surprise that both Wetzel and Rosenson are animal lovers, Wetzel owning Nacho and a cat, and Rosenson owning two chihuahuas. Of all the reasons they love their job, the first that comes to mind for Wetzel is the dogs, holding true to the shop slogan “The Family Shop for the Family Pet.”
Duke and Dutchess sells cat and dog supplies and offers pet grooming for all tame pets except birds. Rosenson has even previously groomed a pet monkey. Walk-ins are welcome but appointments are appreciated. The shop is open Tuesdays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information call 305-821-1542.