11-years of dedicated service:

I will never forget the fond memories of scraping floor glue while my clients paced back-and-forth outside with their overgrown dogs asking when I would finally be open. There were a few clients that refused to wait until construction was over the so I put them to work cleaning construction debris or painting while I groomed their pets. My clients loved to come by in the morning, drink coffee and watch me bathe and groom pets. We had many therapy sessions in the old days, we discussed divorces, children, parents, relationships, dating, and death. I got to know my clients on a much more personal level than when I worked for a large corporation. Don't worry all of your secrets are still safe, I will take them to my grave.

I want to thank all of you for your patronage of my little salon, for the trust you've given us to take care of some of the most precious little members of your household. I want you to know that I hold this trust sacred and I will always provide an environment that will make your pet as happy and comfortable as possible.

Many people are under the impression that when they bring their pets in they are only getting a haircut, we would like to tell you a little bit about what goes on behind the scenes. When your pet comes in for their appointment they are evaluated by a groomer to determine if any pre-grooming is needed before the bath, for instance if the pet is too matted or there is excessive coat. The pet will get much cleaner if excessive coat is trimmed and mats taken out. Your pet is then taken to the bathing station where a bather will pluck excess hair from the ear canal (this can cause ear infections if not done every few weeks) and the toenails are trimmed.

Another issue many of our clients have questions about is anal gland expression we would like to dispel some common myths about your pets’ anal glands. There is so much misinformation out regarding the anal glands. Anal glands are designed to provide lubrication for bowel movements and when dogs lived in the wild they were a defense mechanism against attack. If the anal sacs get full and if the pets muscles tense for any reason the glands will secrete the most foul smelling liquid, if you can imagine what rotten eggs, fecal matter, and sulfur would smell like mixed together. If you see your pet sitting and scooting across the carpet it is not usually because they have worms it means they're anal sacs are full and causing an irritation.

Pets have no concept of time, one hour is the same as five hours in your pet's eyes however they do feel stress, so it's very important not to do anything that causes a stressful situation. We have noticed when we have a stressed little pet they are usually accompanied by an even more stressed out human, our pets look to us to see how they should act. We recommend bringing pets in on a leash instead of in your arms, this makes it seem more like a fun casual outing, and the pet is not able to feel any anxiety you may have. We understand some humans have extreme separation anxiety when they are away from their pets, this is very normal I am also afflicted with this problem every minute away from my Lucy Lu seems like an eternity.

A shampoo is selected for your pet based on what type of haircut your pet will be getting and also taking into consideration any skin issues your pet may have. Sometimes if a medicated shampoo is chosen your pet may have to soak for up to 15 minutes this is also true of flea shampoos and deep skin conditioners as well. Some shampoo is put directly on the skin others are put in our hydro-surge system this gives a deep massage effect that pet usually enjoy and find relaxing. Your pet is then doubled rinsed to make sure there is no soap or residue left then he or she is wrapped in a towel and left to relax for usually 20 minutes or so. After the water has been absorbed into the towel the pet is taken to the drying station where the ears are cleaned with a drying solution to get moisture out of the ears. The pet is hand dried and brushed then placed on a plush pad to relax for a few moments then the haircut is performed. Some of our clients don't understand why the process takes so long so we wanted to take the time to explain. We commonly have people ask if we can do their pets appointment in two hours or less. We do not advise this, not only is this more stressful for the pet this causes stress on the groomers as well.

While I have your attention I want to address another issue, there are still some people out there that are still feeding dry pet food with corn in it. Read those labels folks, do not look at how pretty the bag is or the brand name or the cute pictures of the dogs on the front of the package. A little history lesson, dog food was adapted originally from livestock food in the 1930s. Corn was the main ingredient because it was cheap and it got livestock fat as quickly as possible so that it could be sold at market for a higher price. Corn based food was not designed to carry animals to a ripe old age in good health. Some of the nicer restaurants are even shying away from meat from corn fed animals opting to buy grass fed instead. More antibiotics have to be used on livestock that are corn fed to keep them from succumbing to diseases until they can be brought to market. Around four or five years old we can usually see the effects of a corn diet on a pet. We see more yeast infections in the ears and on the skin, which clients usually have to see a veterinarian to treat. It has always baffled me why people go to the grocery store or Wal-Mart and buy corn-based food to save a couple dollars a bag only to spend several hundred dollars a year on vet visits. Not to mention pumping their poor pets full of antibiotics and steroids which does more long-term damage to their health.

Just because some of these dog food companies have been household names doesn't mean they make a great product, don't be a victim too glitzy corporate advertising campaigns. We encourage our clients to look for pet food that has meat meal as the first ingredient and ideally the second. What this means is that the water has been taken out then ground and weighed, when you see meat on the ingredient panel it means pre-water weight (this means less meat). Dogs and cats are naturally meat eaters, in the wild they would have killed their prey eaten the contents of the stomach (which would have plant matter, berries and a few grains) then they would've eaten the organs because these are more calorie rich. Last but not least they would have eaten the lean muscle after it had probably decomposed slightly. Dogs are not prone to salmonella or other viruses that humans are. So to sum it up keep your pet's diet as close to what he or she would have eaten in nature for long-term health. We don't care if you buy natural food from us (Summerfield location) or from Earth Pets (Gainesville location) or if you make it yourself at home. We just want your pet to have a long, healthy, happy life and for you not to spend a fortune at the vet clinic.

On the subject of appointments we want to let our regular clients know that we are now taking appointments for the week before Christmas. This is our busiest time of the year and even with extended hours we do fill up. We want to make sure that we keep holiday appointments available to regular clients first.
For those of you that may not know we also offer pet photo-graphy, we do studio portraits as well as unique art photography. No two portfolios are the same we do unique photography to showcase each pets personality. Ashley McGinnis is our pet photographer, and we now have a full photography studio in the back of our salon, feel free to come on in and take a peek. Some of you may know Ashley McGinnis she is also my salon manager and head groomer. She really has a way with animals and captures some of the most beautiful photos I've ever seen.( there are examples of her work in the lobby, at Gainesville location)

We are always learning more about pets, their nutrition, behavior, etc. we like to share every new thing we learn with our clients because the more educated we are the happier all of our pets will be. Unfortunately we get so busy we don't have as much time as we would like to spend with our clients addressing all of their pet issues. We would love you to join us on Facebook so we can answer any questions or concerns you may have, or if you just want to chat with your groomer or if you have a great idea about how we might better serve your needs.

Thanks again for being our valuable customers, and go home and give your babies a great big smooch and a tummy rub from the girls at nature's pet day spa.

Sincerely Lisa Jordan, and" Lucy Lu"