CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A Clarksville pet boarding and grooming business will hold a grand opening this Saturday, nearly two and a half years after a tornado destroyed it.
Kathy's Pampered Paws will hold its grand opening at 1 p.m. Saturday on the same plot of land where owner Kathy Conn and her late husband built the business nearly 25 years ago.
"Pretty much the whole front of it was smashed," Conn said. "It was just gone."
The tornado struck in December of 2023. No one was hurt, but Conn faced a difficult decision about whether to rebuild.
"I was pretty much ready to retire," she said. "It was a thought. Should I go back and do this or should I not?"
The decision carried emotional weight beyond the physical damage. Conn's husband, who helped her build the original business, died just before the pandemic.
"My husband, he passed away almost six years ago," she said. "He's the one who helped me build the first one."
Conn said the rebuilding process brought long nights and grief alongside the construction.
"Lot of nights crying," she said. "For a lot of reasons, you know? I missed my husband, I didn't have him to talk to."
She said she did not go through it alone.
"You know when you think that you're alone, you're probably not," Conn said. "Lot of people with me, lot of people with me."
Conn credited the broader community with making the rebuild possible.
"It really is everybody's building because it took a bunch – it took a community," she said.
The new building includes a splash pad, an indoor play area, and additional shelter spaces in case of severe weather. Conn said her vision for the business remains unchanged.
"I want them to be on vacation," Conn said of the animals. "I don't want them to be here while you go on vacation! I want them here, having a ball and not wanting to go home!"
The grand opening is set for 1 p.m. on Saturday.
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