When Doug Gelbert started a business called The Dogomat, some people thought his idea was all wet.

Shortly after the shop opened in Stanton, Del., one of those people telephoned to voice his opinion. "I wash my own dog, but I pay you," the caller said, confirming how the business operates. "Are you nuts?"

Gelbert, AS '78, who cheerfully acknowledges that The Dogomat's biggest competitor is the backyard hose, says he knows some pet owners will never embrace the concept of a do-it-yourself dog wash. But, today--four years, a second location and more than 10,000 shampooed pooches later--the business is a going concern that attracts plenty of regular customers.

With its modest prices, unpretentious facilities and low-key atmosphere, The Dogomat is exactly what Gelbert says he had in mind when he decided to become an entrepreneur. He wanted a steady income that would allow him ample time to continue his career as a writer of guidebooks and other works of nonfiction. And, he says, it doesn't hurt that his own dog, Katie, can spend the entire workday by his side.

"When I first opened, there hadn't been anything like this in this geographic area, so our biggest problem was educating people," Gelbert says. "I put up a sign, I ran one newspaper ad, and I sent out press releases, but most of my business comes from word of mouth."

The advantages of using The Dogomat are summarized for customers on a white board that hangs in the lobby of the shop, right next to the mural of a fire hydrant. On it, Gelbert has written: "NO cleanup + NO clogged drains + NO sore backs = Happy owners + healthy pets."

The shop provides five bathing stations, each equipped with a waist-high tub, hand-held spray nozzle, waterproof aprons for the two-legged patrons, a selection of dog shampoos, scrub brushes, combs, towels and a blow-dryer designed specifically for pet grooming. A kind of stepladder is available to walk dogs up to the tub, and a chain can be attached to the basin to prevent a wet pet from jumping out. The price includes a post-bath trip to the "doggie salad bar," where 18 metal bowls hold such treats as beef wafers and liver crunches, and an optional spritz of canine cologne.

The flat fee of $12 is in keeping with Gelbert's desire to keep the business simple. He says he considered charging by the dog's size or the length of time in the tub, but both methods seemed unnecessarily complicated and unfair to some customers. He's also scrubbed the idea of doing the washing himself for an additional fee.

"I'm not a groomer, and I don't want to be a groomer," he says. "Besides, washing your dog is a good bonding experience for both of you. What I supply is the equipment--and the cleanup--to make it easy to do yourself."

After about a year of operation in Delaware, Gelbert opened a second Dogomat near West Chester, Pa. Both shops are on high-traffic roadways and have required little advertising, he says. The unusual nature of the business also has attracted free publicity, in the form of newspaper and magazine articles and local TV features.

When Gelbert began thinking about starting some type of business to supplement his writing, he was on the road in Missouri, doing research for a travel book. He remembered a newspaper article he had read years earlier about do-it-yourself dog washes in California and decided to do some checking. After learning that two such businesses were operating in St. Louis, he stopped in to visit.

"They weren't far from each other, they didn't look busy and they didn't do any advertising," he recalls. "In fact, one of the owners said, 'We're thinking of putting up a sign,' so I knew they hadn't been marketing themselves at all. But, one had been in business for three years and the other for five years, so they obviously were making a profit. I thought: 'Well, this can't be too difficult.'"

Gelbert, who has a master's degree in business administration from the University of Oregon, does employ some marketing techniques. He offers incentives in the form of a summer package deal (unlimited washes for $20 per dog), membership in the Tailwagger's Club (after five visits, the sixth wash is free), discounts on particular days of the week and gift certificates. The business has a newsletter, the "Wash and Wag Rag," and a web site, [www.dogomat.com].

At the rear of the Delaware shop is a computer, where Gelbert writes whenever he's not busy with customers. He became a writer several years after graduating from UD with majors in history and psychology and then earning his MBA. He says he worked for a book publisher for a time and for the Durham Bulls minor league baseball team, before becoming a product manager for National Liberty Marketing.

"I was the proverbial fish out of water," he says of that corporate experience. "I was doing all sorts of creative things that didn't have anything to do with the business. My co-workers told me I should be a writer."

Gelbert took them up on the advice and has written 18 books, including numerous state-by-state guidebooks--on such subjects as Civil War sites, industrial museums and locations (other than Los Angeles) where movies have been filmed--for McFarland & Co. publishers. He also has self-published The Great Delaware Sports Book, which he says he researched by spending "every day for four months at [UD's] Morris Library, reading 150 years' worth of newspaper sports pages."

In more recent ventures, Gelbert has combined his loves of writing and dogs to produce A Bark in the Park, a series of guides to the best dog-walking spots in various counties in and near Delaware, and an expanded, regional version, The 55 Best Places to Hike With Your Dog in the Philadelphia Region. His publishing company, Cruden Bay Books, has signed freelance writers around the country, who currently are working on 12 Bark in the Park guides to be published next year for such small metropolitan areas as Erie, Pa., Colorado Springs and El Paso, Texas.

"I've always been a dog person," Gelbert says. "This dog wash business will never be a massive money-maker, but it's been great for me."

--Ann Manser, AS '73, CHEP '73