Ok. If you’re like me, you’ve driven past the Great Dog Shoppe for years (probably on your way to Display and Costume). Maybe you’ve never actually stopped in to check it out, but you’ve meant to…..
URRRHHHHTTTT!!!! (Car screeching to a halt noise). Please do. Don’t deny yourself one more day. To help explain further, let me re-introduce you to Darling Dexter! He is a loyal Great Dog Shoppe customer. He is groomed there regularly.
Lisa (the person that feeds Dexter) tells me that he comes home exhausted from grooming. Just worn out. And that he loves it. Why? I wondered. What could so tiring about getting groomed? And why does he love it so?
Here’s Dexter resting after being groomed at the Great Dog Shoppe.
To satisfy my curiosity I stopped by the Great Dog Shoppe recently to check things out. I learned that dogs who get groomed here get to stay all day.
The dogs who are being groomed that day get to play with each other in the grooming or bathing areas of the facility. The grooming dogs also get short neighborhood walks to break up their day. And sometimes the pups will play with one of the groomer’s pet ferrets…which is a lot of fun for both little guys! If the owners want their dogs to join the daycare pack (and many folks choose that option) then the dogs have to be evaluated to make sure that they play nicely with others and the owners are charged for daycare.
If they get tired of being groomed, they can romp around with the 60+ dogs who are in the dog day care center. When they’re ready, they go back and finish the grooming. No cages, no hurry, no stress, lots of FUN.
I arrived around 6pm-ish, close to “pick up time” for the day care dogs. MUCH excitement.
Much.
Did I mention, the dogs were excited? 
(This is Stella. She was excited to see me!)
I got the grand tour and really, I would happily leave my beloveds in the care of the 28 fantastic staff members who work in this place. When they have overnight boarders there are staff members who cuddle with the dogs and watch TV with them on a couch!
A lull between pick ups, everyone just chillin’. Apparently the bed up off the floor is the primo real estate.
Since the Great Dog Shoppe opens at 7am, I can pick up pet food in the morning while out walking Charlie. Now, how handy is that? And besides, if you go in early, you get to see all the folks dropping their dogs off, and the animals are so happy to be coming to day care.
The folks at the Great Dog Shoppe are involved, in so many ways, in supporting our community and in particular pets — through rescue and fostering some animals, through providing some social events for the neighborhood to meet and play with their dogs, through outreach and therapy dogs at the Ronald McDonald house… the list goes on and on.
Great Dog Shoppe is deeply committed to building community here in Pinehurst. Please mention that you read the Pets of Pinehurst in the blog get a free treat for your pet!
If you would like to see your pet featured in the Pets of Pinehurst column, please send a photo and a few stories about your pet to Erica at ehas2dogs@gmail.com
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