Bark Avenue Mercer Island

HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE!!!!!!! Do not take your dog here....... we had our cavapoo come in for a bath and trim and Bark Avenue completely butchered him! He had a cut on his ear and under his eye when we picked him up, His coat was cut so close to his skin it was almost bleeding. His nails were so jagged and rough they cut a hole through our cushions. The manager took ZERO responsibility when contacted and said he could do nothing to help. Ahhh, so sad I tried Bark Avenue. Learn from my MISTAKE and find another groomer!!!!! more

Thank you to Carla Kepler for the glowing review. I am sorry to inform you that myself and Patrick left Bark Avenue Mercer Island mid January due to the EXTREME amount of stress that the owner of the company put me under. \r \r I hope you find another groomer that will take care of and love Hershey the way he deserves. And who also has the patience and understanding for the little girlie as well. Give them both big kisses and hugs from both of us!! :)\r \r A little warning: the turn over of groomers in the last 3 months has been high. \r \r \r \r more

We LIKE Bark Avenue. Nancy and her husband are very kind and professional. We've been taking our 30 pound short-tempered cockapoo to Nancy for a couple of years. When we acquired a 9 pound timid chihuahua from the Humane Society, we also took her to Nancy for bathing and toenail trimming. Nancy gave us good advice about her. They are warm and caring, and always on time. I'm going to make an appointment today. The negative reviews here are not up-to-date. Please take that into consideration.\r more

Dear Mercer Island Friends & Colleagues: We are writing to implore you to avoid Bark Avenue at all costs. We recently had a frightening experience with them in the care and grooming of our dog. We believe them to be unethical and abusive. Indeed, this is the second incident that we have had, and the more we check around, the more we discover others with similar concerns. As fellow Islanders, we must do everything possible to remove businesses like this from our community and urge you to consider other options for the care and grooming of your pet. more

Let me be a cautionary tale for you... we left the dogs at 7 AM and asked for them to get their summer shave. When we came to pick them up 11 hours later, they'd only bathed them. They wanted me to pay $120 and bring them back another time. While I was contacting the police for assistance retrieving my dogs, they took them to the humane society and abandoned them in the lobby because the humane society was already closed. If you love your dogs, and would like them to come home, don't take them here. If only I'd read reviews BEFORE we took them, I wouldn't have had the nightmare. more

I brought my dog here to be bathed and left speechless and shocked! The groomer continually yelled at my dog in front of me, drug her out of the kennel where she was drying, pulled on her and continually displayed that she needs a new job or a pill of some sorts. The owner was in the shop but didn't say a word of apology to me for her behavior. I will never go back there again and my only regret was that I didn't say something while I was there. It was an awful experience for my dog. more

I moved to Mercer Island two years ago and have always taken my two dogs to a groomer in Juanita. I was driving a different way to the grocery when I saw the sign for Bark Avenue. I did some research, saw great reviews only a few bad, (all companies have a few bad) and decided to give them a shot. After all, I love giving money to locally owned businesses! Worst idea EVER. I have never, had such a horrible experience with any other business as I did them. I dropped my dogs off at 10 am and they told me they would be ready by 2pm. At 2:30 still with no call, I decide to call them up to check in. A man answers, sounds nervous and asks me to hold. I waited patiently and the groomer, a younger girl gets on the phone and is very rude. Explains she has only started on one dog, and she had to rewash them because they peed all over themselves in their kennel while waiting for her to groom them. I was immediately concerned. My dogs a 2year old, 15lb schnauzer mix hasn't had an accident since he was 6months old. My other dog a 1 year old 3lb chihuahua/shih tzu mix same thing. This basically meant they sat in a cage to air dry after their bathes for FOUR AND A HALF HOURS?! How is this even right? I stay calm, say okay and she said they should be ready soon. 4pm rolls around, still no call. At this point I am beyond upset. I call again, she answers only to tell me she is JUST starting on my second dog. My 3lb little guy. I decide not to wait, I go to the salon and when I walk in I'm infuriated. She's YELLING at my dog, jerking his little face around to be still. I tell the guy at the front desk to go get my dogs I'm ready for them to be done. She brings them out and they are both petrified. She then proceeds to charge me $100...for what? She hadn't even cut my second dogs hair! $50 for a bath?/I just pay and leave, because I am so horrified I couldn't speak, I was shaking so bad. I live literally a block away and both my dogs peed all over themselves in the back seat on the drive home! This is absurd. When we got home they both run into the house and hide in a corner, shaking so bad I thought they were seizing. They have been going to the same groomer since they were puppies and they have NEVER acted this way after leaving an appointment. After a week of calling and trying to get a hold of a manager/owner with no return call I gave up. I absolutely DO NOT recommend this business to anyone and hope you do not take your loved furry ones here. more

We had taken our dog here to be groomed because it was, at at the time, the only place on the island. The groomer was just not that good. She was rough with the pets, even in front of you. The shop was never really clean. She was always pushing some extra service too. Well, that person left and opened her own shop. The owner, Ian, brought a pet stylist from Bellevue's The Pet Stops Here and she is wonderful. Our dog has never looked better. He is happy to go in, unlike when the other person worked there. Kayana has wonderful scissoring skills. She can do show cuts and puppy cuts. Its no wonder, now given a choice, that only choosy owners choose Bark Avenue over all the rest. Pros: stylist is great more