Policies & Procedures

After many years of experience, and even though we recognize most dogs can be the sweetest no matter what kind of breed or mix they are, we at DCP reserve the right to not to groom pure breeds or dogs that look like mix breeds of:

American Bull Dog, Akita Innu, Alaskan Malamute, Argentinian Dogo, Belgian Malinois, Boerboel Bullmastiff, Bull Terrier, Cane Corso, Chow Chow, Doberman, Pit bull, Presa Canario, Rottweiler, Rhodesian Ridgeback, Shar Pei, Siberian Husky, Staffordshire Terrier, Tosa Innu, or any dog over 70lbs.

We apologize if this policy may upset some dog owners, but after some dangerous and scary experiences, plus the physical limitations of our groomer, we will be unable to groom these dogs any longer.

We want you to understand and respect our point of view. All dogs can be truly nice with their family and friends, but dog grooming can be a stressful experience. Their response and instinctive reactions can change when around new people, loud noises and uncomfortable situations, such as nail clipping or ear cleaning.

Under stress, separated from owners and in-what they perceive as a strange environment, we’ve seen all kinds of dog’s reactions, and some doggy’s strength and size can put other pets and us at more risk than we are willing to take. We beg for your understanding. This is not against the dog, but more about us being afraid to work on them, for our physical and emotional well-being.

Thanks

Upon dog’s arrival dogs, we’ll do a pre-cut and sanitary cleaning. Then, she or he gets her shampoo and conditioner. After bathing and a bit of drying they are placed in a crate where a soft air room temperature flows until they are totally dry. Once fluffy is dry would be back on the grooming table and gets his or her final brush and final cut. Note on our dry procedure–We use dryers without heating elements, this mean it might take longer to dry but the good news is your dog is totally safe and comfortable while in his crate. Moreover; most dogs are more relax in a crate with air flowing while they lay down that standing on a grooming table for a hand dry session.

At DC Petropolis we prioritize sanity vs vanity. Dematting is a really unpleasant experience for the dog and a takes lots of extra work for the groomer. We can dematt small areas such as ears, mustache and tail but don’t dematt beyond that. If we think there are few matts we can work through a extra charge for dematting can be applied. Severely matted dogs would be clip down upon owner’s approval.

We are a small grooming shop in the Shaw neighborhood and we strive to provide the best service and peace of mind that while your dog is with us he or she would be under exceptional care. Our shop front door faces 9th St. which is a busy street at all time of the day. Because we try to provide a safe environment we only schedule appointments for drop between 10am-12am and pick up time between 2:30-5:30pm minimizing the amounts of times the doors open during our business ours, and also providing quality time for your dog and the groomer without the distraction of people coming in and out of our shop.

Our busy schedule allows us to have a short window of time to stretch our waiting time for a drop off, so we encourage doggy owners to be on time for the appointment. We understand that traffic in DC can be difficult, so we allow for up to 20 mins late for drop off before we would have to re-schedule your doggy’s appointment.

We hope you understand that like you, we -at DC Petropolis- have family, and plans after we leave the shop. When Owner drop off your pet, we would give you a timeframe of when we anticipate completion of services. Please, keep in mind grooming can be very time consuming and unpredictable process depending upon dog’s behavior, temperament, and coat condition. We will do our best to manage to the approximated time given, but please understand that factors outside of our control can influence how long the process may take. All Pets brought in for grooming must be picked up within one (1) hour of the time the Owner is informed the Pet is ready. Pets remaining after that time a fee of $20 will be charged. DCP closes by 5:30 PM. If picked up after closing time a late fee of $25will be charged. If owner was notified their Pet was ready an (1) hr. has passed and DCP has closed a total fee of $35 would be charged on top of grooming services

We understand that most of us have busy schedules and sometimes things change last minute. Cancellations happens! Cancellations need to be done 24hrs prior your doggy’s appointment. Cancellation at very last mins would be charged a $25 fee and non-show would be assessed a $45 fee to be applied next appointment. After two (2) missed appointments without previous notice, we would request a deposit of $50 in order to schedule an appointment. This deposit would be credit toward your payment but won’t be refunded if you missed your 3rd appointment.