Canine L.I.F.E. Spa will open across 1,400 square feet at 14231 Winterview Parkway within Winterfield Crossing. (Jackie DiBartolomeo photo)
Longtime veterinarian Jaime Pickett is branching further into the business of dog pampering.
Pickett recently announced plans to open Canine L.I.F.E. Spa at 14231 Winterview Parkway in Midlothian’s Winterfield Crossing.
The business’s “L.I.F.E.” acronym stands for longevity, immunity, function and energy. Pickett said the name was inspired by the concept of quality of life and longevity for dogs, which she said she sees increasingly becoming a priority for pet owners.
Canine L.I.F.E. will offer nutritional assessments and lifestyle consultations, red light therapy, warm-water tank exercise, massages, and bathing and coat care for dogs, among other services.
“It’s almost like a med spa, but it’s not injections,” Pickett said. “I am a vet, but it’s not medical. We’re just doing wellness stuff.”
The announcement of the dog spa comes as Pickett prepares to open her first local location of pet grooming franchise Scenthound at 13618 Hull Street Road in Harbour Pointe Village shopping center in Chesterfield.
That location, much like other Scenthound locations, will be focused on services like baths, nail clipping and teeth brushing, while Canine L.I.F.E. focuses on more high-level services.
With a buildout underway for Canine L.I.F.E., Pickett said she hopes to open the doors on the 1,400-square-foot spa soon after her Scenthound location opens, likely within a month or so.
The space will include an area for red light therapy, a treatment room with four tubs for water movement and two massage tables, as well as an underwater treadmill and consultation area. There will also be a seating area and a shared porch with the neighboring businesses for pet owners to wait, though Pickett said they can also be with their dogs throughout the services if they wish.
Jaime Pickett (Courtesy LinkedIn)
“We’re trying to put our services that attract people in the front and back by the windows,” Pickett said.
Pickett said she felt Winterfield Crossing was a good location for its nearby businesses, which she said include many similar services she’s planning to offer, but for humans instead of dogs.
“For this business, it really is a good fit, because they also have a human spa there, they have a DryBar next door,” she said of the haircare chain. “It’s just a good demographic for us, where I think people appreciate these services.”
Canine L.I.F.E.’s space was previously home to a location of boutique franchise Apricot Lane Boutique.
Pickett’s new space will offer individual services and monthly memberships. A 60-minute, one-time lifestyle consultation and assessment is $120, while things like warm-water movement and red light therapy can go for $95 and $85 for a one-hour session, respectively.
Packages that include multiple different services range from $320 to $650, with the lowest tier getting customers three sessions of a bath, one aqua session, one massage, and a nutrition consultation, and the most expensive package including weekly water-based exercise, relaxation massage, and personalized wellness check-ins to track progress over a six-week period.
Pickett said customers will also be able to customize packages based on their specific dog’s needs.
Pickett told BizSense earlier this year that her upcoming Scenthouse outpost in Chesterfield would be the first of around 20 locations she intends to open in the Richmond and Raleigh markets, after signing a deal with the pet grooming franchise last year. She noted that she in recent weeks also leased space for her first Scenthound in Raleigh.
And she has further expansion for both of her businesses in mind. She said she’s interested in potentially opening another Canine L.I.F.E. spa in Short Pump and is eyeing Chester for her next Scenthound.
“Scenthound is a franchise and (Canine L.I.F.E.) is not, so I’m gonna go with it and see what does better,” Pickett said.
Pickett previously operated Banfield Pet Hospital locations in Chesterfield and Roanoke, as well as Papa John’s locations in Boston. She is also a chief veterinary medical officer consultant and a co-founder of locally based pet supplement business K9 Game Day Performance Plan.
There’s currently one other Scenthound in the region per the company website, which opened in Short Pump in 2024, under a different franchisee. The pet grooming business was founded in 2015 and has around 180 open or coming soon locations.
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