Covid 19 Grooming Salon Closed During Lockdown. (New guidelines 12.1.21)

Important Update Grooming Salon Temporarily Closed SHOP IS STILL OPEN FOR PET FOOD & ACCESSORIES We received updated information from our governing body the Pet Industry Federation on 12th January. The information had been provided by DEFRA via the CFSG (Canine & Feline Sector Group). The update unfortunately means that for the time being we have had to close our grooming salon and suspend grooming services. We had been lucky enough to carry on grooming through Tier 3, Tier 4 and the November lockdown for the health and welfare of your dog, including grooming to prevent further welfare issues from arising eg. to prevent your dog becoming matted if left un-groomed. The most recent update is as detailed below:- Further to the publication of the DEFRA approved pet business guidance on 6 January in response to the third national lockdown, DEFRA have now announced revised and strengthened wording relevant to all pet groomers and regardless of their working environment. A replacement first paragraph now states: Groomers may accept a dog to be groomed by appointment where this is necessary for the animal’s welfare and not simply for aesthetic reasons. Welfare reasons could include on veterinary advice for a skin condition or excessive matting causing the pet discomfort. When routine grooming can be delayed without affecting the pet’s welfare until the national lockdown is eased it should be put off. The full business guidance can be viewed here: http://www.petcare.org.uk/index.php/latest-coronavirus-news It is clear that the coronavirus pandemic has moved into a highly critical phase. Virus transmission is high and the intention behind this revised wording is therefore to limit the movement of people and ensure that they only leave their homes for a few reasons. Although leaving home as part of the ‘care of a pet’ was deemed appropriate last week, government rhetoric has shifted in recent days to try to restrict movement as far as possible, with increased enforcement to ensure compliance. This message is now apparent in the revised wording. Further to this information we have also been advised that if we accept clients for welfare reasons we must retain an audit trail (e.g. images, emails, messages, client history) so that groomers can provide evidence which led to the decision about the grounds for a welfare groom if challenged by local authorities. If the owner is travelling to business premises for the groom, consideration should also be given to providing proof of a grooming appointment, to include the date and time of the appointment and containing evidence of your business name, so that, if stopped, the owner has justification for their reason to be away from home. On this basis we have decided that for the time being we cannot continue to operate in a safe and responsible manor in the current climate and the salon will be closed until further notice. Our staff have been furloughed and should not be contacted directly. We will contact customers to reschedule their appointments as soon as we are able to re-open. If lockdown restrictions are likely to continue following the mid-February review we will look to offer some limited appointments for welfare grooms and will keep customers updated. While the grooming salon is closed our opening hours have changed.

We will be closed Sunday & Monday.

Open 10am - 4pm Tues - Sat.