Lulu gets Pampered Paws

My dog Lulu (@PerritoLulu) is a Cairn Terrier (think Toto from Wizard of Oz, or Fred the dog from I Love Lucy) and she requires grooming every 4-6 weeks. Last month, my groomer of 16 years decided to retire, and move to Virginia to be with her daughter.

I knew eventually the time would come for me to find a new groomer, but who knew it would be such a tough ordeal? I went to Yelp and looked up a few places that got “rave” reviews. I called and left a voicemail with the first groomer. No reply. I called a second one and she said to text her. I did and never got a response. Apparently, the graphics on her Android phone wasn’t liked by my iPhone, and rejected her text. Finally, I called a third groomer, Pampered Paws and Tracy answered the phone on the second ring. At last! A real voice.. and a friendly sounding one, too.

I told him that my groomer is retiring, and I would like to have Lulu try them out. He asked for my vaccination records and some quick information, and I scheduled my appointment for Saturday, April 23rd.

The shop is off La Habra Boulevard and Aldrich, near Casita Adelita 3 Mexican restaurant. I found a spot in front of the whimsical storefront, and at a little before 10:00 am, other clients were being dropped off for their “sPaw” day of pampering.

I really liked the interior of the store. It was bright and open, and you can see everything from behind the counter. I didn’t have to feel that they were hiding anything, and even though the store had a dozen dogs, it wasn’t that loud where everyone was barking like you’re in a pet store or pound.

The Ducks had a Playoffs game, and they were most accommodating when I said I had to pick up Lulu by 1:00 in order to drop her back home and go to the Honda Center. At 12:35, I received a phone call that she was ready. When I picked her up, she was wagging her tail and happy as can be. The price for a wash and clean up was $24, which was very reasonable.