For dogs who experience anxiety at a visit to a groomer, a new shop has opened on Love Lane in Mattituck that promises to provide precious pups with a comforting experience.
Groom + Gear, located at 70 Love Lane, offers “low stress grooming,” plus a full line of pet supplies, said owner Elissa Miles.
Miles and her husband David opened the new store, located at the site of the former Country Pet Boutique, in November — and they’re kicking off their first summer season with a brand-new sign, and new approach to grooming.
Many dogs experience anxiety when heading to a groomer, Miles said, because they are placed in a crate and muzzled.
At Groom + Gear, dogs can enjoy “fear free grooming”, with no muzzles or crates unless needed.
“We’re not in this for the money,” she said. “We’re in it for the dogs.”
In the grooming room, the pair plays soothing music and have diffusers that “emit mama dog pheromones into the air and helps to calm nervous dogs,” she said. “We truly enjoy talking to people and hearing about their dogs, and helping in any way possible.”
The shop offers two groomers, and grooming available seven days a week, including early morning and late evening hours, from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m.
All treats and goodies for pets are made in the United States, and all natural, Miles said.
New to the store are raw foods, which offer health benefits to dogs. “That’s how dogs are meant to eat,” Miles said, adding that it has only been in the last 100 years that dogs have been fed the dog foods they eat today. “They’re supposed to eat raw meat, vegetables, and fruits,” Miles said. “The health benefits are endless.”
Dogs have played a huge role in the couple’s life — Miles and her husband have three dogs, Hazel, Styles, and Coby, all rescues.
The couple has worked with dogs for 15 years, during the time they lived on the Lower East Side in New York, finding good homes for 40 dogs, while they worked day jobs “to pay the rent,” Miles said.
Her emotional journey started with Hazel, a dog they couple has had for 12 years, Miles said. “She’s my heart.”
Later, when she brought her smaller dog to be groomed, Miles said she was not happy with the “big box” mentality of chain grooming stores.
With their kids grown, Miles said the couple had considered opening a business in New York. “But the rents were too high,” she said.
And so, when her mom told her last fall that the Country Pet Boutique was on the market, Miles and her husband packed up their lives and headed to Greenport, where they’d summered for years — all in six weeks.
Although the business has been open a few months, many customers did not realize the business had changed hands until the new sign was erected three weeks ago, Miles said.
And now, customers are making referrals and coming back to pamper their pets with caring grooming that’s offered with love.
Her husband — who grooms the pets along with Andre, another groomer — Miles said, is a “a giant man” with a huge heart. “Babies and animals love him,” she said, smiling.
And each time he grooms a dog, her husband begins with a bath and a long massage for the four-footed friend, Miles said.
“We’ve had customers tell us that after leaving here, the next time they walk their dogs on Love Lane, the dogs want to come back, and are pulling them toward the shop,” Miles said. “They said that’s never happened before.”
Along with grooming services, Groom + Gear also offers apparel, supplies so pet owners can groom their animals at home, and forward-thinking toys to keep dogs engaged and active.
Looking ahead, Miles said the goal is to feature dogs up for adoption at the North Fork Animal Welfare League. She added that anyone looking to donate to the NFAWL can bring donations to the store; she’ll deliver them personally.
“We want to make the world a happier place, one dog at a time,” Miles said.
For more information, go to www.Groomandgear.com.
