I have never posted a negative review, but after our experience with Bark & Sparkle, I feel other…read morepet owners deserve to know what happened to our dog and how our concerns were handled. We have been customers of this groomer for 10 years. Our dogs were last groomed at the end of June 2026. The day after their grooming appointment, our 10 yr old dog began limping. We took him to an er vet & discovered his foot had been cut during grooming. The wound became infected, and his paw swelled twice its normal size. For the next three weeks, we had to make trips to the vet for wound cleaning & have it bandaged every 3-4 days. The vet prescribed antibiotics and anti-inflammatory meds because of the infection and swelling. In total, we spent more than $500 in vet bills. We contacted Bark & Sparkle to let them know what had happened and simply asked that they please be more careful with our dogs. We were told that they would pay the vet bills and that what happened was a "fireable offense." We specifically Linda Tew, that we were not trying to get anyone fired and that we were not looking for money. We simply wanted them to be aware of what happened. Despite everything, we decided to give them another chance. Our appt was scheduled for today. For the entire time we have been customers, we have always dropped our dogs off at 8:30. This morning, at approximately 8:15, while we were already on our way, I received a call saying that our appointment was at 8:00 a.m. I explained that we were on our way for our usual 8:30 appointment and that we had never dropped our dogs off at 8:00. I was told they could not take our dogs because we were 30 minutes late. I explained that their posted business hours begin at 8:30 and that we have always brought our dogs in at 8:30. I apologized if there had been a scheduling misunderstanding, but asked why they could not accommodate us when we were only about 10 minutes away. I explained the situation to Linda Tew and again said that we had always brought our dogs in at 8:30. She told me they could not take the dogs and that we would have to reschedule. During the conversation, I was also told that they do not groom two large dogs at the same time and that their policy is to take dogs at 8:30 and 11:30 for the groomer. This was confusing to us because we have brought both of our dogs together for years and have always had an 8:30 appt.
I acknowledged that we had missed a confirmation text and that was on us. However, I explained that we had never brought our dogs in at 8:00, that their posted hours begin at 8:30, and that we were confused. While I was trying to explain my concerns, Linda told me that I would not let her finish speaking. I told her that I felt the situation was unreasonable, and before I could finish explaining myself, she hung up. We called back, and Linda answered. I told her that I did not appreciate being hung up on and that, given what had happened with our dog during the previous grooming appointment, we were now going to take them up on their offer to cover the veterinary bills. Instead of resolving the situation, she again said that I was interrupting her and that the conversation was not going anywhere. She then hung up on me a second time.At this point, I am extremely disappointed. After nearly 10 years of being loyal customers, never having an issue with being late or missing any apps this is how our concerns were handled.
Our dog was injured during a previous grooming appt, resulting in an infection, multiple vet visits, medication, three weeks of treatment, and more than $500 in vet expenses. We still gave the business another opportunity because of the many years we had been customers. Unfortunately, today's experience was the final straw for us. I am sharing this experience so other pet owners can make their own informed decision about where they take their dogs. I personally will never use this business again.
Please be careful, ask questions, and make sure you are completely clear on your appointment time and the business's policies before leaving your pets in their care.
