My Slope Saturday: Lamesha Miles
The owner of Woof Gang Park Slope builds a business, a legacy, and a Saturday routine around canine companions
Leda Strong is a native New Yorker who lives in Park Slope with her husband, Andrew. Follow Leda on Substack for more.
For many of us, the idea of changing our lives to spend more time with our families and four-legged friends is a fantasy, or at the very least, an aspirational goal. For Lamesha Miles, it became reality in February 2025, when she opened the combination dog grooming salon and retail shop Woof Gang Park Slope.
In 2023, Miles, a twenty-year veteran in the finance industry, longed for more time with her cavapoo, Ginger Ale – “she’s my baby, and I really just wanted to be with her more,” says Miles, who also noticed how difficult it was to find a grooming salon that could reasonably accommodate her: her options were either inconveniently located, not accepting new clients, or burdened by wait lists one to two months long. “So I decided to open my own,” she says.
After some research, she discovered the franchise Woof Gang Bakery & Grooming. “It aligns with exactly what I wanted – it was small, it was pink, and I fell in love with the pink decor,” Miles says of the magenta-branded company that launched in 2007 to revive the concept of the “neighborhood pet store.” Beyond the aesthetic appeal of its color scheme, the real beauty of Woof Gang to Miles was its local-minded approach within its position as a franchise – and the benefits that confers. “[I was working full-time] when I had the idea, so I needed something that would be easy to manage and maintain while keeping a nine-to-five.” Within two years, she had quit her job and opened Woof Gang’s Park Slope location: a marriage of her personal goals and a market need in a neighborhood where, according to Miles, “dogs are family.”
When she first opened the shop – which in addition to housing a grooming salon, retails baked goods catered to canines, cat and dog toys, treats, and more – she was there “seven days a week. I wouldn’t leave,” says Miles. In May 2025, she was offered a role at a finance start-up, which she accepted to help subsidize the operating costs at Woof Gang. Now, she works at that nine-to-five role Monday through Friday, and is primarily at the store on weekends. Miles is grateful that her brother manages the store in person on weekdays, but she’s not entirely removed. “Even though I have a nine-to-five, I’m still one hundred percent focused and know everything that goes on [at Woof Gang]…during my lunch break, I’m doing things like payroll, inventory, answering emails.” It’s a true testament to Miles’s work ethic, and to what it takes to run a small business in 2026. It also means Miles starts her Saturday with opening up shop, and makes time for visiting some other local favorites throughout the day. Miles walks me through her Slope Saturday below – specifically, one in the summertime, when nothing is tampered by weather.
CRUNCH TIME: Miles arrives at Woof Gang around 8:45 a.m. for its nine o’clock opening: she’s there to supervise and assist the on-duty sales associate. Once the doors are open and everything is under control, Miles heads to Crunch Fitness Park Slope for a class, usually starting at 9:30 a.m. Then, she’ll come back to the store: “I’ll look at the bookings for the day, talk to the groomers,” she says.
PERSONAL GROOMING: Around noon or one p.m., “I usually have an appointment at European Wax Center on Seventh Avenue,” says Miles, who will also occasionally pop into Nails Mantra, the nail salon next door for a pedicure. When possible, Miles takes advantage of her ClassPass membership to book massages at Il Bianco Sugaring Boutique – “I’ll end my day with that,” she says.
THE DOG WHISPERER: Following her afternoon appointment, Miles immerses herself in the world of her canine clients. “If I have Ginger with me, we’ll either go to Washington Dog Run or Prospect Park…I always have fliers or coupons to hand out to any dogs we see on the way,” Miles says. When they make it to their destination, Miles is often recognized: not by her fellow humans, but by her four-legged friends – to the degree that Ginger sometimes appears jealous. “We’ll go to Washington Dog Run and a dog will run up to me…someone once said, ‘are you the dog whisperer?’ I’m not, but I think the [dogs] know me and they’re probably a client.” Miles believes the dogs remember her, and the feeling is mutual. “The customers are really shocked that I remember the dogs. I remember all the dogs’ names. I honestly didn’t know I had that gift.”
BRUNCH TIME: At the end of the work day, which consists of supervising operations and attending to surprises like running out of business cards midday, Miles likes to grab brunch (and a drink) with friends at Flamingo Baby Kitchen. Other local favorites for her lunch break or an afternoon snack include Sandwich Girl Cafe, 3rd Street Deli, or Goodiez Park Slope.
PAWS-ITIVE IMPACT: Miles recognizes Woof Gang not only as a service for local pups, but an active participant in the greater Park Slope community. She is passionate about providing opportunities for local high school and college students: her longest-tenured sales associate started at Woof Gang as a high school intern on a stipend before Miles later hired her for a full-time position. After posting openings on Internet job sites, Woof Gang was “flooded with applications,” says Miles, mostly from young people who had either recently graduated high school or college. “We love to give that opportunity to [young people]…we get our applicants either online, or from reaching out through the high schools.” Creating pathways for the next generation is of great significance to Miles, a Black female business owner. “This is a family-run business where everyone helps out, and I am building generational wealth,” says Miles:
Owning a store here is not just about commerce. It is about representation, responsibility, and honoring the sacrifices that made this possible…I want people, especially Black people, women, and young people, to see this space and know that ownership and legacy are attainable.
In addition to creating possibility for the neighborhood’s humans, Miles makes the extra effort for dogs from near and far. “We do a lot of adoption events,” says Miles, who also hosts breed spotlight events at the store (like one for Schnauzers that ended in what Miles described as a “Schnauzer Parade” marching toward the park), and organized an “Angel Tree” during the holiday season: a charitable initiative that invites the community to purchase items on the wishlists of rescue dogs. Two rescue organizations, New York Second Chance Rescue, and Animal Lighthouse Rescue – which rescues dogs from Puerto Rico and brings them to New York for adoption – participated in the Angel Tree, with photos of the dogs from each organization featured on ornaments on a physical tree in the store. While many clients purchased items from the store for the dogs, others brought items from home as a donation in a true community effort.
Though Miles denies the title of “dog whisperer,” and though her nine-to-five job on Mondays through Fridays limits her presence at the store, she still boasts insider knowledge of and close connection with her clientele: she knows the names of all former four-legged customers; knows the most common name for a dog at her shop (Milo); knows that Shiba Inus cry like human babies when groomed. Above all, she spends her Saturdays – and the other six days of the week – striving to keep Woof Gang a safe and caring environment for dogs. “When [pet parents] come into our store, they get that caring environment,” says Miles. “They understand…that we really value their dog.” That means a lot in Park Slope, which Miles, a native New Yorker, regards as the most dog-friendly neighborhood in the city. “In many cases, the reason people stop and talk to each other in this neighborhood is because the dogs are talking,” Miles says. And it may be worth listening to what they have to say – you never know when a cavapoo will inspire your next business idea.
