Dogs Get Spa Treatment At Posh 'Pampered Pooch' In Bethel

BETHEL, CT — A trip to the barber's can be very stressful for a 2-year-old. Especially if that 2-year-old is a Pomeranian-Japanese Chin mix.

That's the problem that The Pampered Pooch, a new — and anxiety-free — dog grooming business in Bethel, believes it has solved.

"A lot of dogs get very stressed out by other dogs being placed next to them, or being put into cages," owner Natalie Bassano said. "A lot of them need medication to go to groomers."

The new, luxe grooming shop boasts a thousand square feet of colorful dogscape with scads of natural light, "plenty of room for the dog to relax and not feel claustrophobic" Bassano said.

You won't find a cage anywhere in The Pampered Pooch, located at 1 Garella Road. You won't find another dog, either. The four-legged clients are taken just one at a time, free-ranging far from the watchful eyes of any Dobie or Corgi (who we hear can be very judgmental).

"Our whole philosophy is, we make it a positive experience for the dogs," said Bassano, who noted that some dogs have even had seizures in a professional grooming environment.

Bassano said her own pups never did well around other dogs, and so her "huge passion for animals," alongside a desire to own her own business, made the decision to open The Pampered Pooch an easy one.

It certainly seems like a great idea — now — as dog ownership is on the rise, with shelters emptying happily across the country.

2020, which has been so horrible on so many levels for mankind, has been a boom year for man's best friends. Not only are more first-time dog owners opening their homes and hearts, veteran owners are spending more time with their pets. That's leading us to take a keener interest in their well-being, and, yes, their looks.

The "pandemic puppy industry," as The Wall Street Journal has christened the new impulse buys and their often ill-informed and pricey high-maintenance aftermath, is booming. By the end of the plague year, the Journal estimates that American pet owners will have spent $99 billion on everything from veterinarian visits to dog toys to groomers, low-stress or otherwise.

It's clearly a new and posh approach to an ancient and basic need, one you can expect to pay more for at Bassano's shop than you would at some grooming assembly line like Petsmart or Petco. With a business model that only accepts one client at a time in premium surroundings, The Pampered Pooch has had to make up in hours of operation what it loses in client volume: The shop is open 7 days a week, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Some of those hours are spent giving back. The shop is providing complimentary grooming to the shelter dogs at the Danbury Animal Welfare Society.

How do you grow a business like that? Bassano said the only option would be to open a second and equally spacious location, but right now all the focus is on the Garella Road shop.

"The priority is to take care of the dogs."

Reservations may be made online at the shop's website.