I've been to Paw Tales before, and the experience was okay so I thought I'd go see what their new facility was like and drop both the dog who has been before and my newest addition off for a day of grooming while I had class and ran errands.
Arranging the appointment was pleasant enough, and they were kind to me when I needed to reschedule. However, that's where the pleasantness stopped.
I paid for both dogs to be bathed and brushed, and then purchased a spa package for $17 extra each that included getting their nails trimmed, an oatmeal bath and teeth cleaned. I also paid for my smallest dog to get a shave.
First off, my black lab was apparently not very cooperative with the dryer, but when I picked her up, her fur was still very damp! They told me over the phone that she was being put under a different dryer - not that I paid that much money to receive a damp dog.
The REAL problems, however, come with my littlest dog. For starters, her shave is horrible. It's completely uneven, choppy around the neck to the point I'm going to half to take her somewhere else to correct it, and in some places it's so much shorter that she looks like she has a bald spot. They left her tail alone, thank God, but the fade out is the worst I have ever seen. To top it off, she has a cut on neck. I can't tell if it was there before (because she had longer hair that MAY have covered it) but there was fresh blood so I know she was in discomfort. Additionally, I had them paint her nails and my goodness...that is going to have to go. It's a mess. I get that dogs aren't exactly cooperative with that sort of thing sometimes, but did I really need to find pink nail polish all over my newly-washed dog's tail? I don't think so. Over the phone, I even made sure they knew that if the dog wasn't going to comply to just not do it.
Once more, I has asked that both dogs be given water throughout the day. They were in the care of Paw Tales for five hours and I have NEVER seen them drink so much water when they walked in my door. Aside from that, my black lab used the bathroom in my house (something she NEVER does) as soon as we walked in the door. I *assumed* that for $100, that would include my dog being taken out for a potty break!
I don't know how clean their teeth were supposed to be after the ""scaling"" but that also seemed to be a waste of money. Disappointed doesn't even begin to describe my experience. I hate to post such a negative review but that was an expensive trip to come home completely dissatisfied. Save your money on this place... I should have listened to my husband and gone to PetSmart. $100 down the drain... lesson learned.
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