I used a different mobile groomer for a number of years for 3 cats with only occasional good…read moreresults. That company had high groomer turnover, and tended to send a different groomer almost every time. Some were wonderful... and those usually quickly left the company. Others were truly awful... and usually stuck around. The company was very responsive to phone calls and emails, but the actual grooming service was often sub-par for me and my animals, who would run and hide for hours after the less adept groomings.
It's been two years now, and I adopted a new cat. She came to me dirty from the shelter, but I didn't want to go back to the former mobile grooming company, so I delayed getting her a bath. A friend recommended Happy Pets very highly, so I decided to try it.
Happy Pets is a one woman show, and she is wonderful. She owns it, she does the administrative work, she maintains the equipment, and best of all, she is the sole groomer. It was a little difficult initially to reach her by phone, but I suspect that is because she is busy grooming pets all day for the loyal customers like my friend who recommended her, and she does not have tons of time for calls in between. She was all business on the phone, but not rude in my opinion. I learned fairly quickly that texting works best when reaching out to her, so we overcame the communication obstacle with only a little effort. I recommend text.
SHE IS WELL WORTH the effort to get on her schedule!!! She arrived right on time, at the end of a workday. She showed me the van to help me be comfortable, then collected my never-before-groomed calico with pigeon toed feet and a big voice, and went right to work taking care of her. An hour later, she brought my sweet girl back inside and placed her on the floor as she told me about the groom. What AMAZED me the most is that, instead of running away, my calico proceeded to walk back and forth through Laurie's feet, rubbing against her legs! She didn't want to leave Laurie, which I found astonishing. She looked beautiful -- clean and fluffy, and could not have been LESS traumatized. It was as if she made a new best friend.
Without question, I will hire Happy Pets and Laurie again, because I know she won't send another groomer -- it will be her, and only her. My top criteria for a mobile pet groomer is that they are great with my pet, not that they are easy to reach whenever I telephone. If you can get on Laurie's schedule, you definitely should. Your pet will thank you, and also thank her!
