My dog used to enjoy a bath, blow dry, and brushing from the place where he also goes to daycare & boarding (he also regularly gets combed at home with a furminator because of his undercoat, and gets additional brushings here and there); unfortunately, the folks at doggy daycare were understaffed for a bit (during the pandemic) and haven't really been able to pick up the spa services again since then (also, they never actually *cut* his hair... with clippers or scissors. He's had a couple mini-trims at home though). With summer coming up - and potential for my dog developing hot spots because he's ALWAYS in the water - it was time for a haircut! I refuse to take him to Petsmart (or any similar chain) for grooming, so I've decided to try various groomers within about an hour (one way) drive from home.
Luke's Bubble Bath opens at 10am, and we were there a couple minutes early for my dog's appointment. Upon opening the door and heading into the room, I noticed there were two small children (the youngest being maybe a year-ish old? A year and a half? The young one was in a large playpen) behind the counter. My overall impression of the space? It's certainly not pristine or anything... but it feels like a space that the owner is trying to make work because she enjoy grooming and wanted a storefront.
The estimate for these visits is 2 hours, and Cassi (the owner) takes your information so that she can call you when your pet is ready. We quickly discussed that my dog needed a trim for the summer and so on, and Cassi took my dog's leash to lead him to the back of the shop while I went off for two hours.
I came back to Luke's Bubble Bath a couple minutes before noon (so the estimated 2 hours later) but before being called - if only because the battery on my cellphone was really low by that point and I didn't want to risk it dying / my missing Cassi's phone call when my dog was ready. I was a bit surprised to realize that my dog hadn't received his haircut yet... Cassi said he was still drying. I had planned on taking most of the day off from work (I live out of town), so I just decided to wait there. Unfortunately, there's no seating available besides the inside ledges to the storefront windows. Some kind of seating option when an appointment *does* run long would be helpful. I made a point to stay out of my dog's line of sight as much as possible to avoid distracting him.
It ended up being another hour and a half before my dog's appointment was complete and he was ready to head home (so 10am to 1:30pm). During the last half hour that I was waiting, there was probably a period of 5 or so minutes where the infant (or toddler? I have no idea - the youngest child) that was still in the playpen was crying INCREDIBLY loudly. I found it distressing to hear, and so I'm sure my dog (who spent the first 8 weeks of his life with young children and absolutely loves children - but doesn't live with any now) was overstimulated by this. By the time Cassi handed me back his leash, he was *ready to go*. He was barking, and he pretty much never barks... Cassi even commented about how quiet he had been during his whole appointment. It just kinda reinforced for me that he was overstimulated by that point and needed to go home and decompress. It had been 3 1/2 hours, after all.
The cost for the entire appointment was just under $80 (he's 55 lbs, so was considered a large dog - and he had a very small bits of matting, like behind one of his ears, that she discovered and took care of), so the price seems pretty on par with most places I've looked at. The haircut itself is good. Not perfect, but good... and his hair is a bit crazy anyway (cowlicks... cowlicks everywhere).
TL;DR Cassi seems to have a local, and loyal, client following; that said, I'm not going to be returning with my dog for another appointment. There were a couple aspects of the experience that didn't work for me - or my dog - so it's best that I find other groomers. read more