A Success in Business and Life

Local entrepreneur Tavo Cruz shares his love for pets and their people

By Vicki Melde

 For some, childhood experiences have a profound effect on their adult lives – even influencing career paths.  Often, children who survive serious illnesses choose to enter the medical profession to help others and share the knowledge they gained.  Others whose families relocated often due to military service or other factors find themselves longing to embrace different cultures and locations.  For local entrepreneur Tavo Cruz, losing a beloved pet as a child in Mexico sparked a lifelong bond with animals that is evident in his professional and personal life.

Tavo with his mother, Coco Morales, celebrating her birthday four years ago.

The baby of the family, Tavo grew up in the small town of Veracruz, Mexico (Agua Dulce), with his parents (mostly his mother), a brother and two sisters.  He played with local cousins and the ones coming for a visit from Mexico City, and his family often spent Christmas dinners with their close neighbors.  Tavo fondly recalls trips to the river with family members on holidays and going to el Rancho (farm) with his tio (uncle) Pancho.  “My tia (aunt) Elena was always sharing her food with me,” he reminisced.  “I was always hungry and loved her food!  Still do!”  

Though he has many fond childhood memories, Tavo recalled life was not easy.  “We grew up poor – Mother was always working to support and feed us,” he shared.  “We were always helping her, working at a very young age.”  Tavo explained that in Mexico families have to pay for school.  “I was a good kid – I always wanted to study and loved school,” he said.  “We did go to early school but couldn’t afford the rest of our education.”  After school at the age of 12, Tavo took lessons for two years to become a tailor.  “When I have time, I do some sewing,” he commented.  “I used to make my own shirts – I was always creative, learning things.”  For those who know Tavo, his creativity is evident.

Since 2005, Paw Paw Patch has won Best Groomer in Four States Living Magazine’s Best of Texarkana™ Readers’ Choice Awards.  Pictured with the shop’s 2020 plaque are: (clockwise) Tavo, Marta Rodriguez, Teresa Leyva, Chelo Gonzalez, Rolando Yanes, Adriana Medrano, and Coco Morales.

Tavo moved to the United States at age 15.  “My sister was not in a good marriage in Mexico, and she desperately wanted a better future for her and her kids,” Tavo shared.  “Mother didn’t want her to travel by herself with the kids.  Although I was just a kid myself, I felt mature enough to come with her to help her.

“We moved here with a cousin who took us in on the Arkansas side,” Tavo continued.  “The Spanish teacher (Diana Alexander) where we enrolled the kids in school had a friend who worked in a restaurant – Vejitos.  He told Diana about a couple looking for someone to work for them.”  The couple was the Aarons – Jo and Wesley – who started Paw Paw Patch Pet Grooming.  They gave Tavo and his sister’s family a place to live on their property, and his sister began working for them.  Four to five months later, they hired Tavo to start bathing, brushing, cleaning cages, etc.  Soon he moved into cutting, answering phones, talking with customers, etc.  The foundation was laid for his future business through this chance connection with the Aarons.

Obviously, Elwood, one of Tavo’s boarders, loves the care he receives at Paw Paw Patch.

Paw Paw Patch had opened in 1981, and Tavo began working with the Aarons in 1989.  After about six years, the business was sold to Curtis and Loretta Rose with the understanding that Tavo would remain as an employee.  “I also worked for them for five or six years, but they wanted out, too!”  Tavo admitted, “I really couldn’t see myself running the business for someone else.”  

What began as a somewhat traumatic childhood memory when Tavo was a little boy and came home from school to find that his dad had given away his puppy because of its barking led to an innate way with animals that serves him well as the owner of a successful grooming and boarding establishment.  When asked what has led to his success in business, Tavo noted that 33 years is not easy for a small business to survive.  “It takes a lot of patience,” he admitted.  “You have a dog who almost falls asleep while getting a haircut.  But you have another one who requires two people to hold it while it’s trying to bite your hands off!  Some groomers don’t like to deal with this behavior.  It takes patience to work with the dogs and give them a chance to get to know you.”

During Halloween, Tavo’s dogs, Niño and Chiquito, dress for the occasion and greet customers in front of the groom shop.

Not only the longevity of Paw Patch but the loyalty shown by Tavo’s clients is a testament to his success.  “I love what I do,” he shared proudly.  “We love animals – you have to in order to work in this business.  You must be professional with your customers and get to know each dog.  We do the very best we can in every aspect of the business – but we know we can’t please everyone.  If a client isn’t pleased, we do our best to resolve the situation in a very professional way.”

The pet grooming business as a whole has grown tremendously.  Tavo recalled that 20 years ago they didn’t have a great deal of customers.  Now they make every effort to accommodate everyone who calls for an appointment although they are completely booked four weeks out.

Three and a half years ago, Tavo was finally able to go visit family.  It had been 30 years since he had been back to Mexico.

Tavo’s personality and temperament serve him well in a field that is so highly dependent upon building relationships and customer service.  He is often described as honest, kind, sweet, and very loyal to a friendship.  He also has a wonderful sense of humor.  When asked the best advice he’d ever been given, he quickly stated, “There are three things you don’t talk about with people – politics, religion, and money!”  Perhaps “wise” should be added to the list of Tavo’s attributes.

With a life of dealing with others’ pets full-time, one might wonder if Tavo chooses to have pets of his own.  Well, a true animal lover – he currently has five dogs and two cats.  His in-house dogs are Howard, his 13-year-old Westie, and Niño and Chiquito who are Great Pyrenees mixed rescues.  “Chiquito just showed up in my backyard while I was decorating for Christmas on a Black Friday a few years ago,” he explained.  “And a customer found Niño in the middle of the road.  I took him to foster but no one claimed him.”  The home menagerie is rounded out by Biscuit, his overweight cat (no pun intended), whom he got from a customer.  “He eats all the time kind of like me,” Tavo quipped.

Tavo’s cat, Biscuit, gazes at a photo of Tavo that was published in Four States Living Magazine in 2013.

Paw Paw Patch wouldn’t be complete without the shop pets – Chance, a boxer mix rescue, Hawk, who was abandoned as a pup on the Pleasant Grove football field near Tavo’s backyard, and Kitty who also just showed up in Tavo’s backyard.  Chance and Hawk are best friends.  It seems even area strays somehow know where to find a place they will be cared for and loved.

Tavo is a success story both in business and in life.  His hard work and dedication to his clients – both the furry ones and their people – has made him a Texarkana icon.  It’s always a delight to see good people do well!