Sitting in an overstuffed chair in her home, Shirley Dunning props her freshly soaked feet onto a stool. Kneeling on the floor in front of her, wearing scrubs and what looks like a mini-miner's light, Donna

Guardado takes Mrs. Dunning's left foot in her hand

and gently begins clipping her toenails.

When she's done with both feet, she brings out an electric nail file to smooth away the edges ("So she doesn't snag her hose," she says).

"She never hurts me," says Mrs. Dunning.

After that comes lotion, and then Mrs. Dunning's feet are done.

Donna Guardado's side job is not for the faint of heart. After all, it's not everyone who could handle touching other people's feet, let alone clipping their toenails.

But Mrs. Guardado, aka the Mobile Toenail Clipper, is used to feet. She's had almost 24 years of experience working with feet as a podiatric medical assistant, certified, for Drs. Piper and Lipira. So while some might squirm at the thought of touching another person's toenails, it's just another part of the job. (Besides, she wears gloves while she's working.)

It was at work that Mrs. Guardado first got the idea for an in-home toenail clipping service. Patients coming in to get their feet worked on would often comment on how their elderly parents could use something similar.

"I kept hearing this repeatedly," she says, "the need for a service."

So two years ago, she set out to meet that need (working independently from Dr. Lipira's office, mostly during the evenings). Her patients are mostly elderly, with a variety of medical ills that prevent them cutting their own toenails. They're arthritic and unable to bend over or raise their feet up. They're overweight and can't reach their feet over their stomachs. They're blind or have bad eyesight so they can't see what they're doing.

"There's just a lot of people who can't reach their toenails," Mrs. Guardado says.

Mrs. Guardado points out that she is not a replacement for seeing a podiatrist but an extension of that. She's had to turn down clients because their conditions required medical attention that she couldn't give.

"I'm strictly the toenail clipper," she says.

For those who need her services, there aren't too many options available. Mrs. Dunning, who recently moved from Texas, had a hair stylist who also was certified to work on nails. She would have had to search the beauty salons in St. Joseph for someone similar had she not heard about Mrs. Guardado.

Bea Beauhman, who has been using Mrs. Guardado's service almost since the beginning, says she had previously gone to a podiatrist to have her toenails clipped but wasn't eager to go back.

"I just didn't want to do that," Mrs. Beauhman says. "I didn't like the way they did it."

It's nice that she doesn't have to go anywhere for her appointments. And there's not as much personal care at doctors' offices, she says. They don't soak patients' feet or rub lotion on them. And besides, the doctors don't have time to chat like Mrs. Guardado does.

That's another service she provides while clipping her clients' nails: socialization. As she soaks and clips and lotions she's also chatting with them. She hears their stories, gets informed about their children and grandchildren. She's not just a professional providing a service, she's also a friend.

"She's very friendly, very outgoing," says Mrs. Beauhman. "We just visit like we've known each other for a long time."

Mrs. Guardado still remembers spending two and a half hours with the first man whose nails she cut, talking to him and walking around in his garden.

"I was probably the only visitor he had all day," she says.

Being with people is another reason Mrs. Guardado likes what she does. She gets to talk to and meet interesting people. She makes new friends, some of whom treat her like family.

"I enjoy the person. It's not just a toenail job for me," she says. "... You're involved with the whole person, you're not just involved in the foot."

For more information about the Mobile Toenail Clipper, call 294-6379.

Lifestyles reporter Lacey Storer can be reached at lstorer@npgco.com.