Fur Flies As Groomers Ready To Reopen

On Monday, for the first time since mid-March, pet owners can take their shaggy dogs to the groomers. The companies that clip, snip and trim pets were not considered essential services when the pandemic shutdown began, but starting Memorial Day, they will be back in business as phase one of the state reopening plan begins.

For pets getting new hairdos, it means groomers have to follow a lengthy checklist of dos and don'ts.

Karen Lalazarian of Watertown can't wait. As she put her small dog Neeko through his paces, sitting and giving paw in exchange for a snack, she explained that the little Pomeranian fur ball was badly in need of a haircut.

"He's so hairy," she said. "People look at him and laugh. They say, 'Oh my, God, ... he looks like a little hairy caterpillar.'”

The 10-week long shutdown has been tough for 14-year-old Neeko. For him, regular grooming is not a fashion statement, Lalazarian said. It’s a necessity.

"He has epilepsy, and if he gets overheated, he will have a seizure," she said. "But I did trim it myself a few days ago."

For pet owners who don’t want to take matters in their own hands, there is a local institution in Belmont, Gentle Grooms. It's just down the block from Lalazarian's home. In the window is a sign: “To err is human ... to forgive canine."

Store owner Sandy Koot said her business has been hurt by the pandemic shutdown.

"There has been no business," she said. "I’ve been closed for two months."

Koot usually has plenty of steady customers. Some book a year in advance. But the pandemic shutdown cut deep into her livelihood, and the state’s strict rules for reopening will make it tough to catch up.

"Their dogs are way overgrown, and because of the protocols of the disinfecting [process], instead of it taking one or two hours, it’s going to be double that."

Pandemic protocols require pet owners to phone ahead before dropping off their animals; they aren’t allowed into the shop. People have to wear masks. Their pets don’t, but the animals must maintain social distance from pets from different families. The grooming area must be sanitized between clients.

But despite the extra time it will take putting the pandemic protocols into practice, Koot won’t take extra money from customers.

"I feel like I didn’t make any money for two months," she said. "I know a lot of my customers have children. I couldn’t charge more. It doesn’t make sense to me."

Koot can’t take on any new customers, but Kaitlin McGrath can. She owns nearby Belmont Pet Shop, where she’s one of three full-time groomers.

'The phone hasn’t stopped [ringing], so [on] Memorial Day, we’re opening," said McGrath, standing outside her store. "We’re only doing [nails], sanitary trims, face trims and ear cleaning …. just enough to help them out."

Sanitary trims are basically butt cuts for dogs. They're quick, but for dogs in dire need — and their owners — they are critical.

McGrath's store makes half its income from grooming. She said she's already booked through June, although the first day, Memorial Day, it will be first-come, first-served.

"Cats, rabbits guinea pigs ... birds, we do them all," she said. "It’s going to be crazy."

Yes, birds get their wings and nails trimmed.

McGrath has been busy preparing for the big day, building barriers to maintain safe distance between grooming stations and posting the state’s regulations and customer rules in the store’s front window.

"The other day I got handed an eight-page guideline of how to open, but we’re going to make it work in different times," she said. "We have to roll with the punches, that’s all we can do."

When Belmont Pet Shop opens after more than two months, customers will be greeted by the store's mascot, Harley.

'Hi ... hello," Harley said, stretching his green, blue and red wings.

The hyacinth macaw is known as the giant of the parrot world, and quite the talker if coaxed.

"Hello, Harley. Hello, hello. Are you going to say hi?" this reporter asked him in a high pitched voice.

Harley is unimpressed.

Two months in shutdown will turn anyone into a bird brain.