Took my female dog there today as I was walking her because I was curious about their prices compared to other places. Petsmart requires vaccinations and a rabies shot and although she had her first round of vaccinations, her rabies shot is scheduled in one month. What to do? I walked in to ask what their prices were and to see the place. It is in a small shopping complex almost smack dab in the middle of the rest of the stores on either side. The actual address is 2713 S.W 37th Ave, Miami, Fl 33133 not coconut grove.
You can't just pull the door open as I soon found out. If you look for it there is a small sign right above a knob that says "ring". I press it and a girl buzzes me in. There is a friendly cat walking about and I stated that my dog may not take kindly to the cat but they didn't seem worried. The store is small but clean and equipped with several leashes, dog food and shampoo and little pet knick knacks. I asked the girl the price and she asked me what exactly did I want done. I told her I wanted a shampoo, a haircut especially around the eyes, chest and butt area, nails trimmed, and generally an all round good clean dog. Since I've never had a dog groomed before I told her this would be my first time leaving her by a groomer and I'm not sure if if would be my dog's since I rescued her from the street one month earlier. I don't remember if she told me the price then( it came up to $45) and the dog is a terrier/ dachshund mix so I don't know if size determines price. The actual groomer came out then and was friendly. I explained what I wanted and asked if they needed anything from me, info, etc. She said just my name and phone number and the name of the dog. I wrote it down in a book they had on the counter there. Then I asked how long it would take and she said she was finishing up with another dog inside. I still asked for a time estimate and she said they would call. She took off the leash with her name tag and I asked if it would be ok to wait since I felt a little scared to leave her there with no i.d. What if she ran away? What if something happened and I'm not there? She told me that it would be better if I left because they can still smell you when you're there. It would go better for the whole grooming experience is what I gathered. Nervously I left her and was concerned because it may have been her first experience and I know she has had separation anxiety at home. She said not to worry because my dog seemed calm and if she had to act up she would have already.
I went home and although I was worried, I prayed everything would go ok. They caledl me about 45 minutes later and tell me that she is ready. When I go to pick her up she looks and smells clean, she is ultra happy to see me, jumping almost as high as my head! Her hair is trimmed nicely, especially around all the areas I told her. I then ask her (by the way her name is Madelin) if everything was ok and she said yes and she let me know that she noticed that the inner eyelid was popping out a little bit and educated me that this sometimes happens when they scratch their eyes. We just have to massage it back in. I never knew that! Then she asked me if she was in heat and I said she basically just finished having her "monthlys" and she handed me a card and asked if I was going to have her spayed to which I said yes but the vet told me to wait one week. The card basically is by a non profit organization that does only spay/neuter for cats and dogs. For her it would be $40. Great information!
I forgot to say that when they called me to pick her up they told me that they forgot to mention that payment is only by cash or check. That was ok with me. I ended up paying in cash and leaving a tip but only when I left I realized I didn't get a receipt. I guess if you want one you have to ask for it and by that time I was already home and didn't want to bother.
All in all it was a good experience.I gave it only 3 starsbecause I was just concerned about leaving the dog there with people I didn't know without her i.d tags and that they don't let you wait in the front while the dog is getting groomed. Another thing is you don't see what goes on from the front of the store because there is a small doorway that goes to the back where I assume they do the grooming and the wall lined with products blocks that. I would be comfortable seeing my dog groomed or getting a referral from someone that knows the groomer so if anyone else has had an experience with this company I would love to know. They didn't ask for proof of vaccinations or rabies shots so this might be a good option until you get those. She does have what I think to be a groomers license up on the wall to the right of the small counter which did offer some assurance.
Hope this info helps and compared to Petsmart, yes it's less expensive for the full services I described. She did a great haircut too. read more
