A BLIND date has led not just to a romance but also to a new business partnership for a County Durham couple - a dog grooming salon called K9 Klassy Kuts.

Pam Watson and Les Elders of Sadberge boarding kennels in Middleton Lane met when a friend found it difficult to choose whom to take as his partner to take to a dinner dance.

Mr Elders was asked to accompany Mrs Watson and they enjoyed each other's company so much that it became a serious relationship. They became engaged in October and plan to marry in April.

"I have worked with racehorses all my life and was with Mr Swinbank at Melsonby until February." Said Mrs Watson. "Horses had been my life, but, with Les having kennels, the two didn't complement each other.

"There had been a dog beauty salon at the kennels open on just one day a week, but that has finished so I decided to take over the dog grooming side of the business."

Mrs Watson, who has won many prizes for best turned out racehorses, then set about finding somewhere to train.

"I had no idea it would be so difficult," she admitted. She did her initial training at a Washington kennels, followed by intermediate and advanced courses at Houghall College and then practical work in a shop at Redcar.

She officially launched K9 Klassy Kuts last month and said: "I take any kind of dog. Not just small breeds like poodles and westies. We have kitted out the salon with the latest equipment - a hydraulic table to avoid lifting the dogs and the best driers.

"I like grooming the big dogs like collies and golden retrievers. I can make them look tidy and still natural by just thinning their coats out.

"I think dogs are a bit like children, they are better behaved when their owners aren't there. A lot of people are quite amazed when they come back and I tell them how good their dogs have been.

"I know what chaos it can cause when you try to bath a dog at home. It is not just water but dog hairs everywhere, even with the smooth-haired breeds."

Mr Elders, who ran a kennel for the RSPCA for ten years, said his kennels took 70 dogs and 100 cats and were almost fully booked for Christmas.

"It was a converted piggery when I took it over and I have improved it since then."

He has several blocks, one named after Tricky Woo, the Pekinese in the James Herriot books, which has heated kennels for pampered pets.

"The business has changed dramatically over the years. It used to be just a breeder with a shed in the back garden taking in dogs for friends. Now it is big business.

"I try to offer the complete service. We take in rabbits, guinea pigs, almost any animal because this modern society has multi-pet families."

"Two of the dog trainers I had here have gone off and set up businesses on their own. So I am making sure I marry my dog groom," he joked.

The couple find their biggest problem is that people confuse their business with the NCDL rescue kennels just down the road.

"We get people turning up with abandoned dogs and telephone calls in the middle of the night. In the end we have had to put in a separate private line to get some peace."

Anyone interested in having a dog groomed should telephone Mrs Watson on0 01325 337060.