Interview by Gainesville High School senior and Next Boulevard intern Ragan Allgood
Meet Caroline Hill! Owner of Lucky Dog Salon in Gainesville. Caroline has two children and has owned Lucky Dog since 2016.
We want to thank Caroline for spending time with us recently and telling us more about her life and love of Hall County.
Question: Please tell us about your family.
Answer: “I have two children, Charlie, who will be 20 this year, and Mallory, who is 13. We live here in Gainesville, and I’ve lived here my whole life. I opened Caroline’s Lucky Dog Salon in 2016, and I just love this little town.”
Q: What do you do for a living, and what do you like most about it?
A: “Oh, that’s easy, I style dog’s hair. I give dogs haircuts, baths, and all that sort of thing. Sometimes cats too, but I’m a bit selective about cats. It’s just so much fun. I love the dogs, and they’re so happy when they see me. You know, it just makes my job easy.”
Q: What advice would you give somebody – or, if you could go back in time, what advice would you give your younger self?
A: “Save your money. Be responsible with it. Be sweet, and be nice to everybody. This world just needs more kind people.”
Q: Where do you see yourself in the next five to ten years?
A: “Probably here, working with dogs and continuing to do this every day. They all need haircuts about once a month, so I’ll probably still be here. I don’t plan on moving out of this town or anything.”
Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be, and why?
A: “Oh, that’s a long list. I love to travel. I want to go to Hawaii and taste the fresh fruit there, tour the pineapple farm, that sort of thing. And I also like cold weather. We’re actually going up to Buffalo for a football game in January. We’ll be in the crowd, throwing snowballs at each other and everything. That was on my bucket list, to experience a real snow game in Buffalo Bills. There are just so many places to discover in this country, and I would like to do that as well.”
Q: What is the most beautiful place you’ve visited?
A: “I just got back from Italy. It’s beautiful there.”
Q: If you could choose anyone alive today to go to lunch with, who would you take, and where would you go?
A: “I’ve always loved Keanu Reeves. I think he has the kindest heart and the most beautiful soul. I would love to sit down and just chat with him, besides, he’s a truly beautiful human being. And I would take him out for a cheese pizza, anywhere that has really good cheese pizza. That’s my thing.”
Q: What are a couple of your favorite restaurants in our community?
A: “It’s kind of an inside joke. My husband and I swear you can’t get a better steak than at the Roadhouse. We love the ribs there. For local places, City Park has some great pizza. We really miss Poor Richard’s, I wish it was still open. That was our place to go.”
Q: How long have you lived and worked in this community?
A: “I’ve lived here my entire life. I was born at Northeast Georgia Medical Center, and I’ve worked in Gainesville my whole life. Next year will mark my 10th year here. I’ve been working all over the community since I was about 15 years old.”
Q: Who in the community do you think would be a good candidate for this – someone positive and happy? Who comes to mind?
A: “Kim Davis would be great for this. She’s a true Gainesville person, and she would be wonderful.”
Q: What current or former local business gives you a nostalgic feeling?
A: “Skate Country. It’s not even in business anymore, but I think back to when everybody had their birthday parties there growing up, and we would do the all-night skates and that sort of thing. My husband and I talk about this stuff all the time. We usually go back to memories of Skate Country or the Pizza Hut on Thompson Bridge Road. The video games in the corner made us feel like hot stuff when we got a personal pan pizza and got to play on the jukebox or the arcade games.”
Q: What’s something unique about our community that you like?
A: “I think everyone I deal with just seems so nice. It’s such a warm, welcoming community, and I’m glad to be a part of it.”
Q: What is one of your favorite movies and TV shows?
A: “My favorite TV show of all time, and I’m going to sound like such a nerd, is ‘King of the Hill.’ The ‘Reboot’ has been great; it’s one of those rare times when a reboot is really, really good. As for a favorite movie, I don’t really watch many.”
Q: What’s something your friends and family might not even know about you?
A: “I’m an open book.”
Q: What’s something you would rate a 10 out of 10 every single time?
A: “My mom’s lasagna.”
Q: What’s your go-to band when you can’t decide what to listen to?
A: “Counting Crows, all the time. John Mayer, too. I love Rod Stewart, I just saw him live for the first time about a month ago. He was fabulous and sounds exactly the same live as he does on the CD. He’s great.”
Q: If you had one extra hour in the day just for yourself, what would you do?
A: “Nap, absolutely. Or maybe watch something useless on Hulu or whatever.”
Q: Is there anything besides a nap that you would do if you could choose something else?
A: “Maybe go get a pedicure, since that takes about an hour.”
Q: What’s something on your bucket list?
A: “I have gotten to see Rod, so that’s awesome. I would love to get in the Winnebago and travel, to see all 48 states and see something special from each one. We’re huge Bills fans, and we’re going up in January. One thing my son and I want to do together is visit a list of football stadiums. Lambeau is next, so maybe we will visit a few stadiums and just travel around the United States.”
Q: What’s your favorite month? Your favorite holiday? And the best single day of the year?
A: “Favorite month? November. Favorite holiday? Christmas. Best single day of the year? December 25, Christmas is so special, especially since I have kids.”
Q: What are three words that come to mind when you think of home?
A: “Warm, cozy, comfortable.”
