CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Nearly a year ago, the building that housed Kathy's Pampered Paws in Clarksville was destroyed in a tornado.
While business owner Kathy Conn never stopped operations, she's finally ready to rebuild a store front. December 9, 2023 is a day that is forever rooted in her memory.
"We purchased this property in 2004 and there was a little house on it and we basically bootstrapped — my husband and I," Conn said. "We added on and added on and added on and created this amazing little place."
The building stood in the way of an EF-3 tornado. The powerful twister killed seven people, four of them in Clarksville.
"We had a lobby, of course, and then the kennel was in the back part of the building," Conn added. "We did bathing and grooming and all that, too."
Employee Stormi Knight was there and told News 2 that the tornado caught them by surprise.
"I was grooming a dog and everyone had left," Knight said. "It just kind of came out of nowhere."
Knight and Conn mourned the loss of the business together.
"I just sprinted over and she was standing here and we cried and we hugged," Conn said. "And then more employees started coming in because most of them live around here and we just cried and hugged for a while."
It's taken a long time to get back here, Conn said. Nearly a year later, Kathy's Pampered Paws is operating out of a nearby business.
"It's gratifying and inspiring because Kathy certainly runs a great business here," Clarksville mayor Joe Pitt said. "Kathy's Pampered Paws does a wonderful business. She takes care of not only her customers, who are the four-legged friends, but also the people who own the four-legged friends."
She hopes to open the new shop in the same spot that the tornado hit in 2025.
"[There were] many sleepless nights [where I was] thinking it wasn't going to happen, so the fact that it's going to happen is really amazing," Conn added.