Is there a cancellation fee for grooming?

The line on our grooming menu is short: a $10 cancellation fee applies to grooming appointments cancelled without notice. It sits with the grooming add-ons, next to nail clipping and teeth brushing, and it is the only charge on the menu tied to timing. A missed appointment with no call at all is the plainest example of a cancellation without notice. A call or a message well before the slot is the opposite case, and the one to aim for.

What we do not publish is a set number of hours that counts as notice. Rather than guess, treat that as a reason to call early. The front desk can tell you, for your booking, whether a cancellation at that point carries the fee. Call 978 491-5922 during opening hours, Monday to Friday 6:30 AM to 6:30 PM or Saturday 8 AM to 6 PM, or send a message through the Dogtown app whenever your plans change.

Cancelling solves today's problem and creates a new one: a coat that misses its interval. Curly coats keep growing, double coats keep shedding, and a gap of a few extra weeks is how a tidy dog turns into a dematting job, billed at $15 per 20 minutes. So when something comes up, ask to move the groom instead of dropping it. Have two or three alternative days in mind before you call, and the conversation is over quickly.

Check open grooming times online or in the Dogtown app first, so you know what is available before you talk to anyone. Then call or message the front desk with your dog's name, the current slot and the times that suit you. Ask at the same time whether the change counts as a cancellation, and whether a $5 rebooking saving you took at your last pick-up moves with it; both answers come from the front desk, not from this page.

The published fee covers grooming. For daycare days, Academy days and overnight stays, the front desk confirms the current cancellation terms when you book, so ask then, particularly for holiday nights. If your dog's groom was booked inside a daycare day or before an overnight pick-up and the visit itself changes, ask how the groom is handled at the same time. One call can usually move both, and it saves you chasing two separate answers.

Cat appointments book through the same grooming calendar, from nail clipping at $20 to the Full Service at $120. If you have a cat booked and need to change it, the same advice holds: call or message early, and ask the front desk how the fee applies to your appointment. A cat that is unwell on the day is better rebooked than brought in; every cat is assessed before service, and a cat who cannot be groomed safely is referred to a vet.