SALON POLICIES & SERVICE AGREEMENT

All grooming clients of The Dog Spaw are required to review and sign our agreement.  It has been established so that you are aware of our salon policies and procedures in regard to grooming your precious pet and urge you to read the agreement in its entirety.  As always, we look forward to becoming a positive and vital part of your pet’s grooming needs for years to come.

• Your pet's rabies vaccine must be up to date (as required by law) and proof of the expiration date must be on file with us. We will also honor yearly rabies titers or a medical waiver that has been issued by a licensed vet. 
• Pets are accepted for grooming services when the pet is deemed generally healthy and of sound mind.  However, the grooming process may expose pre-existing behavioral, internal health, or skin/allergy conditions that are not visible to the eye until the grooming process. Therefore, any pet with a known medical condition(s) or behavioral issues (including allergies and/or sensitivities) MUST be disclosed to us/the groomer at any given time that you are an active client with THE DOG SPAW.  
• Any pet with advanced medical or behavioral issues, it will be under the discretion of the groomer whether or not to proceed with the grooming process. Should the groomer agree to groom the pet, please note it’s at the owner's risk as the grooming process can exasperate any issue; including but not limited to neurological issues, respiratory issues, pulmonary issues or skin conditions and THE DOG SPAW cannot be held liable for any medical condition that has been exasperated by such.
• Any pet administered an oral sedation for anxiety/aggression or anti-parasitic medication prescribed by a vet prior to 24 hours of the grooming appointment, it must be reported to us at the time of drop off as some of these prescriptions run the risk of serious side effects to your pet.  Should your pet experience a side effect from such, your groomer will immediately stop the service, call you and either do one of two things:  1.keep your pet comfortable until your arrival or 2. if needed, take your pet to the nearest veterinarian listed below. As such, THE DOG SPAW cannot be held liable for any side effects incurred from a medication you administered prior to the grooming process.
• IN THE EVENT OF AN EMERGENCY with your pet, you authorize THE DOG SPAW to contact and bring your pet to one of the nearest veterinarian and authorize the veterinarian to treat the pet as necessary at your expense. 
• Payment is to be made at the time of service. Payment can be cash, check, credit card, debit or store gift card. Returned checks will incur a $35 charge. Credit card & debit payments will incur a 2% convenience fee. 
• Our grooming rates are based on the breed, size, age, coat condition, and duration of the groom/service of each visit. Note that rates may fluctuate between visits due to matting and/or lapse of time between visits. Nail cutting and ear cleaning are part of all our grooming service packages unless the process is too stressful for the pet or too dangerous for the groomer. Additionally, the groomer can impose a rate change of service during any visit should the groomer have to perform any additional work on your pet from a previous visit or due to a yearly price increase.
• Non-scaling teeth cleaning is available upon request for a nominal charge.
• Tips are greatly appreciated by your groomer directly in the form of cash or Venmo. We do not accept tips on credit card or debit payments.
• We do NOT offer anal gland expression unless discussed with your groomer prior to your pet's service.
• For liability reasons, THE DOG SPAW has its salon video monitored for our protection and your pet's.
• We reserve the right to terminate grooming service to any pet, at any given time that our groomers may not feel comfortable completing due to severe health reasons, age or behavior.

PETS WITH PESTS:

• Should your pet's groomer find evidence of fleas, it is salon policy to perform a natural flea bath. As such, an additional fee starting at $15 will be added to your service bill.
• Should embedded ticks be found on your pet, we will remove up to 4 at no charge. There will be a surcharge added should there be more than 5 ticks.

PETS THAT ARE MATTED: 

• De-matting (a/k/a removal of knots) will only be performed on a pet in areas not deemed "too sensitive" or when the groomer feels it's not going to be too stressful and/or uncomfortable for your pet. However, if this is not the case, a complete coat removal (shave down) will be recommended so that a new, healthy, and even coat can grow in. The length of coat left on your pet will be determined by how tight the matting is on your pet's skin as the blade needs to get under the matting in order for it to be done correctly and safely. When such a procedure is performed, please note that it will dramatically alter your pet's appearance for at least 4 weeks until a new coat grows in.
• Shaving your pet down may expose pre-existing health or skin problems that were not visible to the eye nor caused by our groomer. As such, THE DOG SPAW cannot be held liable in such instances. In addition, some pets may experience a mild irritation/reddening of the skin after a shave down; depending on how tight the matting was on your pet's skin. This is common as blood circulation is also normalizing back to the surface of the skin and can last up to a few days. In most instances, a vet visit is NOT necessary. Any vet visit incurred because of normal and common "shave down" side effects will be the sole responsibility of the pet owner. However, your groomer will be happy to discuss ways to help keep your pet comfortable until those side effects subside.

GROOMING RESERVATIONS & CONFIRMATIONS:

• As of 5/16/23, all NEW CLIENTS will be required to leave a non-refundable deposit of $25 to reserve an appointment.  This fee will be applied toward your grooming bill on the day of your appointment.  Please note it is NOT transferrable.  
• Once a reservation is made, a text with the date & time will be sent to the cell phone on file to add to your calendar.  Please know we require at least 24 hours advanced notice for cancellations/reschedules to avoid a fee being applied on your account.
• All of our groomers on staff are typically booked out 4-6 weeks in advance.  Therefore, it is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED to always reserve your pet’s next grooming appointment(s) in advance to avoid any long delays in maintaining your pet’s regular grooming schedule.  However, in an event that you miss or forgot to make a grooming appointment and can’t wait, you may either request to be put on our unguaranteed cancellation wait list or utilize our guaranteed last minute / emergency grooming reservation services (see below).
• All clients will receive a reminder text two (2) days prior to their pet’s grooming appointment. Please note, YOU MUST RESPOND TO THAT TEXT in order to CONFIRM you will be arriving.  You will be prompted to text back the letter Y to CONFIRM or N to CANCEL.  Should we not receive this first attempt of confirmation at the first reminder, you will receive another text the next day; one day prior to your appointment.  If you do NOT respond to our last attempt for confirmation by 3pm the day prior, please note that your appointment can be subjected to being forfeited to another client.  However, if we were unable to fulfill your original reservation within 24 hours with another client, a fee of $25 may be imposed on your pet’s account at your next grooming visit. 

LAST MINUTE / EMERGENCY GROOMING RESERVATION REQUESTS

• Despite our groomers schedules being booked for up to 6 weeks in advance, selected groomers are available outside their normal work schedules for last minute, emergency and/or after hour grooming reservations with a $50 surcharge booking fee per dog.  This type of reservation will give you a reservation early as the same day or within 48 hours of your request; depending on availability and/or the urgency of the request. This is perfect for a pet that has been skunked, become severely muddy/smelly, became infested with fleas/ticks, or simply needs an appointment but can’t wait for a regular reservation to become available.
• Any last minute or emergency grooming requests cannot be guaranteed to be performed by the groomer you normally use during regularly scheduled grooming visits. Furthermore, these special appointment requests will usually be done between the hours of 5pm – 8pm but will be determined by the available groomer’s schedule on that given day. 
• Due to the groomer staying after her normal or business working hours, any last minute / emergency grooming requests will incur a pre-paid and non-refundable booking fee of $50 per dog. THIS FEE IS NOT A DEPOSIT & WILL NOT BE APPLIED TO YOUR ACTUAL GROOMING SERVICE CHARGE.  The actual grooming service charge can be paid after the appointment is completed.
• Any last minute / emergency grooming appointment requests that are being performed by a groomer working AFTER her normal schedule and/or AFTER our normal business hours, you must drop off your pet on time.  Should you be running a few minutes late, we will allow up to a 15 minute courtesy wait time.  An arrival after 15 minutes will have to be rescheduled but your pre-paid booking fee cannot be applied toward a new appointment.  Furthermore, you will be required to also pick up your pet within 15 minutes after being notified that your pet’s grooming is completed.  Should you arrive later than that, a $10 fee for every 15 minutes will be applied toward your final service bill.

WALK IN NAIL CLIPPING SERVICE

• Should your pet need a nail clipping/grinding anytime in between a professional grooming, no appointment is ever necessary during our normal business hours.  A nominal fee of $20 for dogs and $25 for cats will be applied.
• This service usually takes 5 minutes; depending on your pet’s behavior.  You must stay on premise as we can not hold pets in a waiting suite for this walk in service.

ARRIVAL & PICK UP TIMES:

• It is expected that you arrive for your pet’s grooming appointment on time. However, we understand that instances arise. Should you be running a FEW minutes late, please call the salon with an ETA so we can inform your groomer.
• Should you be running 20 or more minutes late, you and your groomer will discuss upon your actual arrival time and will do one of three things as it will depend on her schedule: A. Perform the original service request but with an additional $25 late arrival fee imposed on your bill. B. Downgrade the service (full groom to mini groom, etc.) and do what she can in the time you arrive but with a $25 late fee imposed, or C. You may request for a reschedule to another date & time but with a $25 fee imposed.
• Please walk your pet to relieve itself PRIOR to walking into our salon in the designated potty areas outside our facility to prevent any accidents happening in our salon. Pet waste disposable bags are available outside our building.
• Because we know that pets can have an accident while in our care, please note however, we do have the right to impose an additional fee for a re-bath or a waste removal fee should your pet have multiple accidents at our salon due to a medical issue, being in-tact (marking territory) or from a long duration of waiting to be picked up.
• Depending on the breed, length of coat, size, behavior, age and service being done, typically, please expect your pet to be with us for 1-3 hours.  (Extra large, double coated breeds may require more time).  However, please note, there may be an instance when your designated groomer needs more time than expected.  Therefore, always ask your groomer at the time of each drop off for the estimated completion time of your pet to avoid any issues or scheduling conflicts with your anticipated pick up time. 
• You will be contacted by either text or a phone call at least 15 minutes prior to your pet being ready to be picked up. If you do not receive communication from us, your pet most likely is NOT ready.  Again, quoted completion times by the groomer at the time of drop off is an estimate only. 
• Because we allocate enough private suite space for each client coming in each day, we expect you to pick up your pet within half an hour after we have contacted you by either text or a phone call of the pet being ready. Should your pet be waiting after half an hour, we may impose a $5.00 surcharge for every 15 minutes thereafter during normal business hours. Any pet waiting after hours, the surcharge will double for every 15 minutes.

CANCELLATIONS:

• Cancellation and rescheduling of an appointment by the client require at least 24 hours' notice to avoid the last-minute cancellation fee of $25. However, in the event of inclement weather, a family emergency, or any other uncontrollable circumstance, the business / groomer has the discretion to waive the last-minute cancellation fee for you as a courtesy.
• We reserve the right to cancel or reschedule a grooming service should your pet's groomer have an emergency or is sick that prevents her from coming to work. However, every effort will be made to shift your pet's grooming service to another groomer if the schedule allows it on the same day or reschedule at a time convenient for both the client and the regular groomer.  

NO SHOWS:
It is considered a "no-show" when the client has confirmed an appointment but simply does not show up for the appointment and neglected to contact us or the groomer to cancel or reschedule. In instances like this:

• A credit card must be kept on file in order to schedule any future appointments.  In addition, the business has the right to impose a $25 re-booking fee in order to obtain a new appointment.
• In the event there is more than one no-show occurrence on your account, the business will then impose and charge to your credit card on file a fee equivalent to the full grooming service charge normally on your pet due to the loss of revenue to both the business and the groomer caused by the "no-show". Therefore, please make every effort to call to cancel or reschedule when possible to avoid such situations and charges.