Dogfather Grooming Stratford — Local services in Meriden

Yea, definitely not. I have many issues with this place. Upon calling I was told the cut would be approx. 1 1/2 hrs which is what I am used to. However upon arrival the receptionist told me it would be approx 3+hrs. The receptionists excuse was “we’re a high volume salon and extremely busy today” … yes your dog will be caged while waiting. The time change was the least of my worries, not a big deal. But… When walking in, the grooming area was playing extremely loud dancing music. This is a red flag to me. Why? Well they are supposed to be professional & knowledgeable about dogs. Which in turn means they should know that loud music is not good for dogs anxiety or their sensitive hearing. PROFESSIONAL groomers have a chill style music and the groomers themselves wear headphones to listen to the music of their choice. The receptionists excuse was “we’re a high volume salon” When asking the receptionist simple questions she seemed very annoyed and kept saying it was a high volume salon. She honestly was not very helpful and didn’t know much. Pretty rude toned and couldn’t be bothered. Honestly the lack of cleanliness was an issue for me. Serious lack of cleanliness The same groomer came out three different times to grab incoming dogs. When she came for mine I simply asked her if she is grooming my dog now or if my dog will be caged while waiting because I noticed she had already come out for 3 dogs within those small 5 mins. She said “we’re very busy so yes she will be caged until I can get to her” I am also confused on how she would remember my requests by the time she got to my dog. Every small dog that came out was literally shaking, it was weird to see. I’ve never seen such thing. But being caged with loud dance music… I’m not surprised. Upon telling the receptionist my concerns and how I was mislead upon booking (because I did ask these questions prior to booking) she kept asking whom I spoke to which honestly I don’t remember. Her resolve was “well the cancelation fee is 50%”

Through all of this I was kind and even toned, no attitude or rudeness. But even with that we had a horrible experience and dealt with a rude receptionist.

Honestly I will never go there or recommend this place to ANYBODY. & I am very grateful that I was in a kind mood because honestly they did not deserve to charge the 50% and I really should have just walked out due to the extreme inconvenience and waste of time. I hope they can get it together & maybe educate themselves a bit more on professionalism and cleanliness within a...

Extremely Disappointed and Heartbroken

My family has been taking our dogs to this groomer for years without any issues. We have been loyal customers, trusting them with our pets’ care. However, after our most recent visit, our trust has been completely shattered.

Last week, our dog Teddy received his usual haircut, but when he came home, we immediately knew something was wrong. He was in visible pain, and upon closer inspection, we discovered burns all over his body. Concerned, we took him to the vet, who was shocked by the severity of his injuries and even questioned if Teddy had been in a fire. The vet confirmed that these were severe clipper burns, likely caused by excessive heat from the grooming tools or blow dryer.

Teddy was so uncomfortable that he had to be placed in protective booties and a shirt to prevent him from scratching his burns. Despite our distress, when we politely reached out to the groomer, we did not receive an apology. Instead, they completely denied any wrongdoing and falsely claimed that Teddy’s injuries were “trauma bruises” from a fight—something our vet outright dismissed.

The pain was so unbearable for Teddy that we had to return to the vet the following day, where he was prescribed a topical steroid to help with the inflammation. The vet reaffirmed that these were, without a doubt, burns caused by high temperatures—not bruises.

It is absolutely devastating to see our beloved pet suffer like this, and even more disheartening that this business has refused to take responsibility or even express any remorse. We are beyond disappointed and urge other pet owners to be cautious before trusting this groomer with...

This was my first time using a mobile grooming service and it was a great experience. I just adopted a rescued cat from a shelter who needed some speedy grooming attention. I'll leave out some of the details but my vet and I decided that in addition to other steps, the best course of action was to include having someone other than me groom her, including a bath. I called Dogfather 1st because I'd seen their vans for years and heard positive things. They were booking weeks out, but because of my situation, they shifted a few things around and offered an appointment a week later. I took it but also did my due diligence by calling some other grooming services (mostly smaller operations), only to find that they either were booking a month/months out or didn't take cats anymore at all. As for customer service, Dogfather sends reminder texts/emails up to the minute that the van is arriving in your driveway, which I really appreciated. They're also extremely responsive if you call with a question before the service. Tara was the groomer that came yesterday and she was knowledgeable, friendly and terrific with my new cat (as well as me). After she'd been bathed, my sweet but skittish rescue kitty was noticeably more comfortable - I'd even say happier (living on the "mean streets," she'd been pretty dirty). I think they're a wonderful business and I recommend them highly. Thank you Dogfather, for excellent service from...