Check out the before picture (left) and the After picture (below). Doesn't she look great?!
After several bad experiences with grooming, we finally found the perfect groomer who was sympathetic, gentle and professional! We're so happy with the results.
In earlier posts, I wrote about grooming experiences at big-name pet store that resulted in my dog so stressed she needed emergency veterinary care. One of the reasons for Kelly's anxiety was being separated from me and left in unfamiliar surroundings. I called several groomers, none were willing to let me remain while they were grooming. I finally hit upon the idea of mobile groomers, who co
me to your house and groom the dog in their van...but none of them allowed the owner in the van, either. That is, until I found Melissa of TransFURmations. She was concerned and experienced about handling stressful pets, and had no problem at all with me staying in the van while she groomed.She arrived last night, took the time to get to know Kelly, and we proceeded into her grooming mobile. Kelly did NOT even want to get in, but when I got in first, she jumped up. She then jumped back out again and I had to carry her back in, but I can only imagine how upset she would have been if I'd not been allowed to stay. Kelly did not like the bath at all. Melissa has a very calm and friendly demeanor and did not get flustered at Kelly's barking and repeated attempts to escape. She didn't even flinch as Kelly nipped at the water coming out of the hose.
Next, she lifted the sopping Kelly to the grooming table and turned on the blow dryer. Of course, Kelly liked this even less. Melissa kept the dryer at the lowest setting, which took a lot longer to dry but I"m sure was a help to Kelly's nerves. Kelly nipped at the air coming out of the hose and Melissa explained that was a common reaction. She put the grooming leash (I hate the term noose!) under one of Kelly's legs so that it wouldn't be
so tight around Kelly's neck as she pulled and tried to jump off the table. I must say Kelly didn't stop tugging and trying to escape for at least an hour, even with me there. But she wasn't stressed to the point of bursting her blood vessels again either. She just didn't want to be there.After the drying, Kelly calmed down a lot. Melissa was very quick with the clippers, and was careful to give me exactly the type of cut I wanted. I wanted to retain Kelly's longer coat on top, because it is so soft and never matted. Melissa snipped toenails like a pro, something that usually takes my husband an hour of struggling with a wiggly, whiny dog took her only seconds...snip snip snip!
She did an incredible job on Kelly's legs, which were four thick, hairy, curly messes. I could tell by the way she worked the scissors she was a real pro.
She ended with a bandana (or bows if you prefer), a squirt of doggy perfume, and Kelly got to select a toy from the toy basket! In the end, Kelly bounded out of the van happy to be free, but not stressed out in the least.
The entire job took about 2 hours and 20 minutes. I felt her fee for a full groom for a dog Kelly's size, was extremely reasonable considering how much of her time it took, and that she traveled about 40 minutes to get to my house.
Thank you Melissa so much for a wonderful job, Kelly looks awesome. I want to recommend Melissa to everyone reading this.
As the sign on her grooming mobile says..."TransFURmations...it's better than a belly rub."
