May 7, 2020 2 min read

FINLEYVILLE – A dog grooming service with an office in Finleyville reopened last week in defiance of Gov. Tom Wolf’s order closing nonessential businesses because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Norm Candalore, owner of Candelore’s Barking Beauties, said he decided to reopen despite the order after 798 of his customers called him for his services.

“It’s time to get back to work,” said Candalore of Elizabeth, Allegheny County, where he has another location that reopened.

The state Department of Community and Economic Development, which oversees rules on the list of essential and nonessential businesses, said Wednesday that dog groomers are not allowed to be open in Southwestern Pennsylvania under Wolf’s order.

“We will ask the appropriate enforcement authorities to look into the matter,” DCED spokeswoman Dominique Lockett said Wednesday.

Wolf on March 16 ordered nonessential businesses to close to help slow the spread of COVID-19, which as of Wednesday had killed 3,106 people statewide.

Lockett said dog groomers are not considered to be life-sustaining businesses under Wolf’s order affecting areas of the state that are classified as red zones.

Candelore said he expected he would eventually be warned or cited for violating the order to close during the pandemic.

“Nobody’s bothered us yet,” he said.

He said his business is following federal social distancing rules, that his customers drop off their pets and leave.

“We’ve had no issues,” he said.

While not addressing a specific company that defies his order, Wolf said Wednesday that owners who reopen nonessential businesses are doing a bad thing for their operations.

“I think they are going to have a problem with confidence with their staffs and customers,” he said.