I've been a loyal client of The Pet Hospitals for several years with multiple dogs, using them for…read moreboth vet care and grooming. Despite that history, their grooming practices and management have become completely unprofessional and unacceptable.
They require drop‑off before 8 a.m., but repeatedly leave my 13‑year‑old dog crated all day without calling to say she's ready. More than once, I've only found out she was done because I called around 3 p.m. and was told she'd "been ready for a while." Another time, I was told at 3 p.m. she wasn't ready, at 5:30 p.m. she still "wasn't ready," and then suddenly at 5:45 p.m. (they close at 6) she could be picked up. Every time after grooming there, my senior dog comes home panting, parched, draining multiple bowls of water, and with an upset stomach from the stress. This does not happen with other groomers.
I've used the Collierville, Germantown, and Downtown locations and, while we've had some hiccups in the past, we were always able to work things out quickly. Because of a lack of available appointments, I went to the Poplar/Massey location for the first time, and that turned out to be a huge mistake. I told the groomer we'd recently been around another dog with fleas and that I wanted my dog cut a bit shorter than usual so I could easily spot any bugs--while keeping her spots, face, and whiskers intact, as they know from her photos on file. They agreed and promised to call when she was ready because of her age and her history of being left in a kennel all day. They never called. When I finally phoned after 3 p.m., I was casually told she'd been ready and the groomer had already left. They had barely taken any length off, yet still managed to make her fur extremely choppy and uneven. When I said I needed her trimmed shorter, I was told to come back the next day.
Despite having a family member going into surgery, I went out of my way to bring her back. At the follow‑up, I again asked that her hair be shorter and explained exactly why. The groomer told me my dog's hair "was not made for their clippers," made virtually no changes, then said she was booked and that a manager would call to fit us in the following week. No one called. Instead, I randomly got a call saying I had a grooming appointment I was never informed of. When I said I wasn't aware of this appointment, the receptionist snapped, "Well, that's why I'm telling you now." When I asked if this was a new appointment or one to fix the last groom, she just said a manager would call me and hung up.
When the manager, Kirby, finally called, he was defensive and dismissive from the start. Rather than acknowledge the repeated issues (all‑day kenneling, no calls, poor and unfinished cuts), he immediately labeled me a difficult customer and said, "It looks like we just can't make you happy." For context, the only times I have ever spoken up were when my dog was still wet at pickup, when a bandana they used DYED my dog blue and stained my couch, and when they cut her face/whiskers against my instructions. I have always been calm and reasonable, accepted their attempts to fix things, and never raised my voice or been abusive. Still, after that one conversation with this manager, I received a letter "firing" my dog as a grooming client.
I want to reiterate that the vets themselves have generally been kind, and this review is not about their medical care. This is about a grooming department and management team that repeatedly fails at basic communication, leaves a senior dog crated for excessive periods, ignores clear instructions, and then blames and dismisses a long‑standing client instead of taking responsibility. I obviously will not be returning, and I simply cannot recommend their grooming department, especially not for senior dogs or pet owners who value consistency, accountabily, and professionalism.
