From the phone call onward
Five steps, from booking to the next appointment
This is what you experience, from your side of it.
Tell us what you have got
Call, or use the form, with the breed, the weight, roughly when your pet was last groomed, and what you want it to look like. If you have a photograph of a haircut you liked, send it. Describing a length in words is how two reasonable people end up disagreeing about a dog.
We tell you the price and the honest timing
Most coats can be quoted on the phone. If yours cannot — because it is matted, or because you want something the coat may not do — we will tell you the range and confirm at the coat check rather than guess high and hope.
You get a real appointment time
You book a slot, not a morning. Small dogs are two hours, most medium dogs two and a half, big and double-coated dogs three or more, cats as long as the cat needs. You are welcome to wait; there is a bench, and most people do not.
One groomer, one animal
Whoever starts your pet finishes your pet. It matters for the haircut, and it matters more for a nervous dog, who has to trust one person for two hours instead of three people for forty minutes each.
The next one is easier
Before you leave we will tell you the interval this coat actually needs and book it if you want. The single biggest reason a groom goes badly is that the last one was five months ago.
On the day
What actually happens once your pet is with us
The same appointment, described from the visit itself rather than from the phone call that booked it.
Arrive and hand over
Come in through the door on 61st Street. If you are bringing a cat, tell the desk and you will go straight through to the quiet room rather than sit in the front with the dogs. Drop-off takes about five minutes, because we look at the coat with you rather than take the lead and disappear.
The coat check
Your groomer runs both hands over the whole animal before anything starts: behind the ears, under the collar, the armpits, the belly, the back legs and the tail. That is where mats live and where the things you have not noticed turn up. You will be told what we found and what it means for the price and the plan.
The price, agreed out loud
We tell you the number and the finish time before you leave the building. If we think what you have asked for is not achievable on this coat today, we say so then rather than call you at two o'clock. You can change your mind about anything at this point at no cost.
Bath and hand-dry
Into the raised tub, washed twice on most coats and rinsed until the water runs clear, because leftover shampoo is what makes a coat itch afterwards. Then hand-dried and brushed at the same time by the person grooming your pet. No cage dryer, no heat box, nobody left alone with a dryer running.
The haircut
One groomer, one animal, one table. Your pet is not passed between three people, and it is not put away half-finished while somebody else's dog is done. If it needs a rest, it gets a rest in an open bay with a bed in it.
Collection, and what we noticed
You get your pet back and a straight account of how it went — including if it went badly. Anything we found on the skin, in an ear or on a paw gets pointed out, and if we think it should be looked at by a veterinarian, we will say so plainly and we will not pretend to know what it is.
Honest timings
How long your pet is actually here
Two hours for most small dogs, two and a half for a medium dog, three hours or more for a big or double-coated one. Cats are booked for as long as the cat actually needs, not for a fixed slot the book happens to have free.
Whoever starts your pet finishes your pet. It is not handed from the bath to a different person for the haircut, and it is not put aside half-finished while somebody else's appointment is worked on instead. For a calm dog that mostly changes how the haircut turns out; for a nervous one it is the difference between trusting one person for two hours and trying to trust three people for forty minutes each.
What we commit to
Five things that hold regardless of what the appointment was for
Not a warranty in the sense a repair shop means it — these are commitments about the price, the welfare of your animal, and the moments when we get something wrong.
The price is agreed before we start
You are told the number at the coat check, before anything is switched on. If we find more coat trouble than we could see, we stop and call you. You are never handed a bill with a line on it you have not heard of.
Welfare beats the haircut, every time
If finishing what you asked for would mean hurting your animal, we will not finish it. That means half a groom sometimes, a shorter length than you wanted sometimes, and a refund of the difference always.
We stop when your animal says stop
Some pets have a limit, and it is not a failure of nerve to respect it. You get a call, a plan, and a part-groom price. We would rather see you again in three weeks than never again in two hours.
We tell you when it is a vet's job
A groomer who tries to be a veterinarian is a danger to your animal. Anything that looks like a wound, an infection, a lump, a parasite problem or pain gets pointed at and gets a straight recommendation to see a veterinarian — never a diagnosis and never a treatment from us.
If we get it wrong, we fix it
A finish you are not happy with comes back within seven days and gets put right at no charge. If we cannot put it right, you do not pay for it. Nicks and clipper irritation are rare but they are real, especially on matted coats — we will tell you the same day it happens, not let you find it at home.
If it goes wrong
You are told the same day, and it gets put right
Small nicks and clipper irritation are rare, but they are real, especially on a coat that was matted tight to the skin before we started. If it happens, you are told before you leave the building, shown exactly where it is, and told plainly if we think it needs a veterinarian rather than just an apology.
A finish you are not happy with comes back within seven days and gets put right at no charge. If we cannot put it right, you do not pay for the part that was wrong. Neither of those is a favour — they are what a firm price agreed up front is supposed to mean.
Questions
How an appointment works — what people ask most
How long will my dog actually be with you?
Two hours for most small dogs, two and a half for a medium dog, three hours or more for a big or double-coated one. You book a time and your dog is groomed at that time — there is no holding bay full of animals who arrived at eight in the morning and are still waiting their turn at noon.
How long does a cat's appointment take?
As long as the cat needs, which is usually close to double the time the grooming itself takes. Cats are booked deliberately long in the quiet room, because a cat that is not rushed is a cat we can finish, and a rushed cat is often a cat we cannot.
Is it the same person the whole way through?
Yes. Whoever starts your pet finishes your pet — the coat check, the bath, the dry and the haircut are done by one groomer, not handed between people over the course of the day.
What happens if you find something you did not expect once you start?
We stop and call you before going any further, tell you what we found and what it means for the price and the finish, and let you decide what happens next. The only thing we will not do is carry on and put it on the bill without asking first.
What if my pet is nicked or gets clipper irritation?
You are told the same day, before you leave the building, and shown exactly where it is. It is rare, and it happens most often on a coat that was matted tight to the skin before we started, but when it happens we say so — we do not let you find it at home.
What if I am not happy with the finished haircut?
Bring your pet back within seven days and we will put it right at no charge. If we cannot put it right, you do not pay for the part that was wrong. This is a standing commitment, not a case-by-case decision.
Can I wait at the salon while my pet is groomed?
Yes, there is a bench, though most people drop off and come back rather than wait two or three hours. Tell the desk if you would rather wait outside with your dog than inside, and somebody will come and find you when it is done.
What happens after the appointment ends?
You get your pet back and a straight account of how it went, including anything we noticed on the skin, in an ear or on a paw. If we think something should be looked at by a veterinarian, we say so plainly, and before you leave we will tell you the interval this coat actually needs and book it if you want.
A price agreed before the clippers come out
Book an appointment
Call the salon with your pet's breed, weight and roughly when it was last groomed, and we will give you the price and the honest timing on the phone. Nails, ears and sanitary tidies are walk-in whenever we are quiet, and Saturday morning is a dedicated walk-in nail clinic.