Lauren Mallett also contributed to this article.
If you want your dog to be groomed, cleaned or babysat, The Downtown Paw is the place for you. The recently opened store is owned by Malden resident Katherine Cruikshank. She takes care of the whole shop, and her mother helps around when she is available.
The shop opened a month ago. They have multiple forms of entertainment for the dogs to play around with. There are different rooms and there will soon be one for grooming. In an average week, they have around 7-12 dogs. Since they opened, they have had around 33 applications turned in.
Cruikshank's dream has always been to own a business. She wanted to have a job where she would be able to bring her dog, so she started working on opening her own store last year.
Since COVID held back a lot of plans with opening the shop, she got the lease last April, and since then she has been organizing to finally open this year. “The business has been doing really good,” said Cruiskank.
They are open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. On weekends the store is closed. The Downtown Paw is located at 72 Pleasant Street in Malden.
Owner Katherine Cruikshanks' dog Fields. Photo by Lauren Mallett. 
Owner Katherine Cruikshanks' dog Fields. Photo by Lauren Mallett. 
Owner Katherine Cruikshank. Photo by Lauren Mallett. 
A treadmill for exercising the dogs. Photo by Lauren Mallett. 
Teacup with his owner. Photo by Lauren Mallett. 
Canela stands up in excitement. Photo by Lauren Mallett. 
Kevin sniffs the camera. Photo by Lauren Mallett.
