My dog's experience (and mine) at this place was an absolute, total nightmare.
I had taken Reddy Teddy here once previously. Only once, several years ago, as he had a regular groomer and it wasn't close to home, at the time.
This time, coming in the door, he balked. He tried to pull me back out the door. He remembered this place and he didn't want to be there. I should have listened to him. It's my shame that I didn't....I left him there.
He had a little allergic cough when I dropped him off (mentioned to shop owner). It turned into a constant cough while in her care, so Renee refused to groom him. When I came to pick him up, he was back in a cage in the back of the room. The cough was concerning, but more alarming was Teddy's emotional state. He was panting his head off, drooling, eyes darting, shaking.
She insisted that Teddy needed to see the vet about the cough. I told her I didn't think so, as it wasn't like that before coming into her shop, and he probably just needed to get un-stressed. I pointed out all his other stress signals and here's where it gets weird. She refused to even acknowledge his stress level, not to mention explain it. It's like maybe she does not know what stress looks like in dogs, or maybe she's in denial of the stress she causes to them. I do not know how she handled Teddy on this or the previous visit that caused his over-the-top stress. I do know that he generally does fine with other groomers; this was unique to her business.
So she calls animal control to "force" me to take Teddy to the vet. At this point I'm thinking maybe it's best anyway, as perhaps she's done some damage to his trachea (he fell off table when she wasn't looking, etc), and that's why the cough AND the stress. My wonderful vet got us right in. They did exam, imaging, etc and concluded it was most likely the extreme stress that caused the increased coughing....the extreme stress he experienced at the hands of Renee/ Joyful Grooming. They explained dogs when under extreme stress can have difficulty moving enough air through the airways, thus the panting and coughing together. (They gave some cough tabs and recommended humidifier at home.)
I'm really not one to write reviews of businesses (good or bad), but I feel like I owe it to my Reddy Teddy to do this. I feel horrible that I failed to advocate for him when he "told" me he did not want to go back to Joyful Grooming. The least I can do, now, is try to help others who love their dogs. And remind myself -- and everyone -- to stand up for our dogs. read more