Have groomer, will travel
The groomer treated the dogs well, Carey said, but between the travel time, the amount of time the dogs were at the groomer, and Rylee's shyness, ...

PLAINVILLE -- There is no mistaking the van when it brakes alongside the entrance to the Takach driveway.

The customized white vehicle, emblazoned with smiling humans and healthy-looking dogs and the words ZoominGroomin in blue and Mobile Pet Spa in red, leaves little doubt about the reason for the visit.

In fact, it was because Carey Takach spotted the van on the road one day that she signed on with the mobile pet groomer. That and the coupon her sister had passed along to her.

"It's a huge convenience," Carey's husband Eric said, noting the couple had, until recently, been taking their dogs Baylee and Rylee to a groomer in Seekonk.

The groomer treated the dogs well, Carey said, but between the travel time, the amount of time the dogs were at the groomer, and Rylee's shyness, the work-at-home couple felt it is worth the additional expense to have a groomer come to them.
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Convenience is among the factors behind the rise in mobile pet services, part of an overall consumer trend of spending more and more on pets.

"I felt confident I would get off to a good start," said Rich Toback, the Mansfield-based franchisee for ZoominGroomin whose district covers Bristol County. "But it's been nothing short of phenomenal."

Toback said he has 700 regular customers just nine months after starting the venture, along with two vans and five groomers and 100 appointments a week.

The former retail executive, who at one point was a vice president for menswear, became a mobile pet groomer at age 56.

"I was sick of looking at polos," he said. "My cocker spaniel is my business adviser and was the catalyst to the whole thing."

Toback said the idea to become a mobile groomer franchisee struck when he considered the amount of time involved in taking his dog to the groomer's. He would drop him off at 8 a.m. and pick him up at 5 p.m.

"He was waiting in a cage for six hours, waiting his turn," Toback said.

It occurred to Toback that many pet owners treat their pets "like children," noting that a parent would not drop their child off at a barber for eight hours. The average mobile groom session is an hour and fifteen minutes, he said.

The ZoominGroomin van was created by Wag'n Tails out of Indiana. It contains stainless steel bathing equipment and comes equipped with air conditioning, a "furnace" for the winter, an anti-freeze system, hydraulic lift, fresh water supply and a gray water tank. There's also a generator and global positioning system.

Mobile pet groomers interview the pet owners upon arrival to discuss styling and other special needs, such as the physical and psychological condition of the cat or dog, Toback said.

"We're all about not stressing" the pets, he said, noting the vans are parked so that the animal can see the house while being groomed.

A full spa treatment includes teeth brushing, nail clipping, ear cleaning, a hydrosurge bath with shampoo and conditioner (both all natural, vegetable-based), a forced-air blow dry, brushing, and if necessary, a shave down. Then there's the spritz of mink oil. The cost is $55 for a dog up to the size of a St. Bernard; $65 for a cat. For larger breeds requiring specialized grooms, it's double the cost.

There is also a $25 "home service fee" per location. Whether the customer has one or seven dogs, the $25 fee would apply as long as it's within Toback's service district. He said about 95 percent of his customers opt for the traditional groom.

Laurel Chandler started her part-time mobile pet grooming service, Paw Prints, in August. She is based in Easton and services Mansfield, Norton and Foxboro.

A manager at a high-tech company, Chandler said she has had about a dozen customers - from stay-at-home moms with older dogs, to busy professionals who appreciate the convenience of a groomer coming to their doorstep. The average cost for a groom is about $65, including a $20 service fee per location.

"There's a need out there and there are a lot of dogs out there," she said. "It's been a good response.

"It cost more than going to the groomer's, but it's the convenience and one-on-one with the dog, and they're not there waiting at the groomer's for hours."

Petco said it does not give grooming estimates sight unseen because it depends on the pet's coat. But, on average, a shampoo, cut, and nail and ear treatment costs $41 to $61, the company said.

Tracy Halkyard, owner of The Grooming Post in South Attleboro, said while it depends on the breed, a bath and dry, nail trimming and ear cleaning treatment for a small breed runs about $20; a haircut boosts that to $33. For poodles, it's $35 "for everything." For a larger breed, like a German shepherd, it cost $30 for bath, nails, brush out and ear cleaning.

She said one of the advantages of her stationary grooming operation is that she can handle 10 dogs at one time at her business; the mobile services can only do one at a time. And the mobile services have surcharges, she added.

But Halkyard herself has noted the increase in mobile pet services, having recently seen a "Visiting Vets" van.

Toback said while his customers encompass "a real wide variety of people," they tend to be pet owners with older animals that can no longer make the trip to a groomer, pet owners who can no longer manage to take a pet to be groomed, or busy couples and families. His groomers work six days a week with appointments up to 6:30 p.m.

"Lots of people take advantage of that," Toback said.

Carey Takach confesses that at first she thought the idea of paying for a mobile grooming service was a bit "pretentious." But then she considered Rylee's separation anxiety and the idea that both dogs could be groomed in her driveway.

The dogs, who were both rescued from kill shelters, feel comfortable about it and Takach loves the results. Baylee, the good-natured Tibetan terrier mix, "looked like a show dog" who walked along "proudly" after his first groom, she said.

It's less stressful for Rylee, an 80-pound "Labradoodle," because he doesn't have to be around a lot of other dogs or get nervous while waiting at the groomer's. And he comes out with de-matted hair.

Last Friday, the ZoominGroomin van showed up 30 minutes after its scheduled 12:30 p.m. arrival. Baylee went right up to groomer Ashley Ross who bent down to greet him while talking to the couple about what they would like done. While sometimes two dogs are worked on at once if there's an assistant, Ross was the only one on board and tended first to Baylee.

She complacently sat through much of the more than hour-long process, shaking once when doused with soap and water. Ross stuffed the dog's ears with cotton before using the blow dryer. Baylee yipped once while she worked on his nails.

"You can't wiggle," she told the dog.

"It's OK. There you go," she said, applying a little solution to his toe.

After the shave, Baylee exited the van adorned in a Halloween lei.

"You look awesome!" Carey Takach said upon greeting the dog.

Eric Takach said he does not think the cost of the mobile groomer is exorbitant, given the convenience. He and Carey are expecting their first child in December, but consider Baylee and Rylee their "furry children."

"Regardless of how the economy is doing, people always spend a lot on their pets," he said.