Philly pet groomers want to know why they’re closed amid the coronavirus shutdown: ‘I don’t see my industry as a threat’

Kathleen Owens still goes to her shuttered Fairmount pet-grooming spa every day. She makes sure the place is tidy and clean, ready to reopen from the coronavirus shutdown. She hopes that day comes soon.

When she sees someone walking a dog outside, she becomes overwhelmed with emotion, she said, thinking about when her empty space was brimming with four-legged life.

“I hope we don’t have to close our doors," said Owens, 59, who opened Bow Wow & Meow’s Grooming Spa more than a decade ago. "I’ll go down fighting for this.... I don’t think my industry is a threat.”

Owens is part of a chorus of Pennsylvania pet groomers who say their services are essential, and are asking state officials why their businesses pose a safety risk when the coronavirus spreads primarily from person to person, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While a few animals have tested positive, the CDC said last month, “There is no evidence that pets play a role in spreading the virus."

» READ MORE: CDC reports first known cases of coronavirus in pet cats

Pet groomers and owners say the service is necessary for the health of animals, some of which can suffer infections and require veterinarian care if not groomed.

Yet Pennsylvania groomers are allowed to resume operations only when their county enters the “yellow” phase of reopening if they follow state guidelines, a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development said Friday. Meanwhile, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy last month added pet groomers to the state’s list of businesses that could open even in the most restrictive phase of the shutdown.

More than 22,500 people have signed a petition urging Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf to follow Murphy’s lead and deem pet grooming an essential business, one that can abide by social distancing with no-contact drop-offs and pickups. The petition was started last month by Cassie Sandy, a dog groomer in Homer City, an hour east of Pittsburgh. She assumed groomers could operate, she said, since they focused on health. Then she said a state trooper told her to close.

“I was shocked. I was like, ‘Are you sure?’” Sandy said. “Boarding kennels could stay open, but there’s no grooming. How does that make sense?”

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Groomers in Philadelphia and elsewhere say the reopening guidance they’ve received has been vague. The business directives have caused confusion in the pet industry since March. Pet stores were allowed to stay open statewide, and some interpreted that to mean stores could continue grooming with restrictions. But that wasn’t so.

The Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections recently ordered Doggie Style Pets, which has nine stores in the city, to halt grooming services, a city spokesperson said. The company owner declined to comment, but Doggie Style confirms the May 8 closure order on its website.

» READ MORE: What’s allowed to be open in Pennsylvania during red, yellow and green phases?

Groomers say a prolonged shutdown could have devastating consequences. Gwendolyn Carry, who owns Chez Bow Wow Pet Grooming in Northern Liberties, said she’s worried for her livelihood and for animals’ health.

“If we stay closed longer than June, you’re going to see more skin issues, major matting,” Carry said. “Vets are going to be overwhelmed with medically necessary groomings."

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Maddy Vescovacci, 56, of the Spring Garden section of the city, said she has taken Boobie, her 13-year-old Shih Tzu, to the vet three times during the shutdown. He has severe allergies, she said, which lead to infections under his paws when he’s not professionally groomed.

She understands the necessity of the shutdown order, but doesn’t see the danger of dropping off a pet outside a grooming salon. While grooming may be viewed as frivolous by non-pet owners, Vescovacci said it’s essential for some breeds.

“I tell everybody, ‘It’s not about pretty,'” she said.

Sandy, the Pittsburgh-area groomer, said owners can be negatively affected, too, especially if they have sensitivity to dander or end up paying “vet bills 10 times more than when they were on a regular grooming schedule.”

Elizabeth Melzer, a professional dog show handler in Harrisburg, worries that some people could be left no choice but to surrender their pets to a shelters if this lasts for several more months.

Some Philadelphia pet owners have become so desperate they’ve begged Owens to come to their homes, she said, and offered to pay hundreds of dollars for grooming. She said she refused.

Soon, desperate dog owners are going to start heading to other states where grooming is permitted, Carry said.

Customers have tried to help their local groomers, she said, by reaching out to officials, asking for answers. She isn’t sure what else groomers can do at this point except wait.

“Do I have a breaking point?" Carry said. “I’m not sure.”

Staff writer Barbara Laker contributed to this article.