Preparing For Your Pet's Visit
It kind of feels like the first day of school! Nervous pet parents want the best for their dog or cat. But never fear your pet is in good hands! Did you know our staff is Pet First Aid certified? We also work closely with local veterinary clinics to ensure we are meeting your pet's needs. When you choose FAF, you can feel confident our staff has your pet’s best interests at heart!
Injuries, bites or sensitive areas? Does your pet have any special needs, like medication or a specific health condition? Make sure to tell us anything we should know about your pet in advance. Do they have a special toy or favorite blanket? Bring it! Those items can make the experience even better. And, if your pet has any specific likes or dislikes when it comes to grooming, by all means let us know!
Vaccinations:
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Dogs must be current on their Rabies and Distemper Combo vaccinations.
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The Bordetella (Kennel Cough) vaccination is STRONGLY recommended.
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Cats must be current on their Rabies and Distemper Combo vaccinations.
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We STRONGLY advise all pets be treated with a flea/tick preventative.
Also, any series of these vaccinations must be complete for at least one week prior to visiting our establishment if the prior vaccinations were expired.
We will not accept pets who have never been vaccinated, house bound or not. This is for the safety of all visiting pets and our staff. We will, however, accept Titer testing for pets who can no longer be vaccinated due to being immune suppressed. If you choose not to Titer test, we do require veterinary certification for pets who can no longer be vaccinated due to health issues. All ages and breeds of dogs and cats are welcome for grooming. Other pets maybe accepted with consultation.
Feel free to have your Vet Clinic send proof of health & vaccinations to
FAF.Mankato@gmail.com
Health and Safety:
UNDERLYING HEALTH CONDITIONS:
When you choose FAF, you've choosen a staff that will groom your pet for life. Where other salons may turn pet's away with certain health conditions, FAF will groom your pet after consultation and verification that it is safe to do so from your veterinarian.
Please keep us updated on your pet's health status regarding changes such as Vision, Hearing, Hypothyroidism, Seizures, Heart Conditions, Allergies, Skin issues, Suppressed Immune System or any other condition that could put your pet at risk or require emergency care.
BEHAVIORAL ISSUES:
We are willing to work with pet's who struggle with the stress associated with grooming. Grooming can be over stimulating for some pets so it is important that you disclose any sensitivities that you are aware of. We will adapt the process, as best we as we can, to minimize the stressors for your pet. Unfortunately, there are limits to those options. If your pet requires a mood altering medication for grooming, please disclose that in advance so we can schedule accordingly. If we feel your pet would be more comfortable with medication, we will also make that suggestion.
Please be advised that if we make this suggestion, we may no longer be willing to work with you if you refuse to discuss options with your veterinarian. If we are making this suggestion, usually the pet is behaving aggressively and is a danger to itself or staff. In the event that medications don't work for an aggressive pet, we are willing to make arrangements to groom the pet at a local clinic completely sedated. We are certainly willing to discuss any special needs or concerns you may have.
COMMUNICABLE DISEASE:
Kennel Cough is a common concern for dogs who frequent dog parks, boarding, doggie daycare, and grooming facilities. Upper Respiratory Infections caused by Mycoplasma are often referred to as Kennel Cough and are not the same as Kennel Cough caused by Bordetella. You protect your dogs against Bordetella through vaccination, however, there is no vaccine available for Mycoplasma based infections.
There is very little we can do to protect your pets against aspirated or airborne microorganisms. however, we clean and disinfect all touchable surfaces to ensure we kill any lurking microorganisms!
In order to protect all visitors as best we can, we ask that if your pet should ever be diagnosed with an upper respiratory infection, that you do not visit our facility until the antibiotics (if prescribed) are complete, your pet is no longer coughing, and an additional calendar week has passed.
POLICIES
Non-Refundable Booking Fee:
All clients will be asked to pay a non-refundable $50.00 booking fee for services totaling less than $100. Scheduled services that exceed $100, will require a non-refundable $100 booking fee to secure your appointment with us. This fee will be applied directly to your grooming services when you come to your scheduled appointment – on time! We require nail service appointments to be pre-paid.
Our booking fee is non-refundable due to the high volume of last-minute cancellations, no shows, and late arrivals. To avoid forfeiting your booking fee/pre-payment, please read the Reschedule/Cancellations section for more information.
Looking forward to seeing you soon!
Reschedule/Cancellations/Tardiness:
Your business is important to us! However, we respectfully ask that clients give us a minimum of 48 business hours’ notice when you need to reschedule or cancel an appointment. Although, we sure would appreciate more notice if possible! We know you (and your pet) are busy and might need some
flexibility on occasion! With a minimum of 48 business hours’ notice of the need to reschedule or cancel an appointment, we will gladly allow you to carry over your booking fee/pre-payment once. If the same appointment is rescheduled again, the initial booking fee/pre-payment will be forfeited, and a new booking fee will be required to secure an appointment.
If you are more than 15 minutes late for your appointment, we reserve the right to retain your booking fee/pre-payment and require services to be rescheduled with a new booking fee/pre-payment. Client tardiness creates unnecessary workflow disruption causing us to be late for subsequent appointments or avoidable staff overtime. Please be on time.
No-Shows:
FAF defines a no-show as less than 48 business hours’ notice or no notice given at all for a missed appointment.
Our valued clients are given one (1) no-show as a courtesy, although the booking fee must still be forfeited, and a new booking fee paid to schedule a new appointment.
A continued failure to give 48 business hours’ notice of a need to cancel or reschedule will result in the client remitting the difference between the scheduled services minus the booking fee from the missed appointment, plus pre-paying future services to secure appointments. Thank you for understanding.
Booking Fee/Pre-Payment and Pet behavior:
Occasionally, we have pets that are new to us or already have known sensitivities that require us to stop the process and send the pet home. While this is rare, we need our valued clients to understand we still need to charge for the time involved with handling and keeping your pet comfortable while waiting to get picked up. Depending on the circumstances, any booking fee or pre-payments may be retained to cover staff time. We appreciate your understanding and will do our best to minimize that expense.
Medicated Pets:
FAF is happy to accommodate pets who have special needs! However, once FAF requests medication for grooming due to anxiety or behavior related issues, we respectfully ask that any processes related to receiving their medication, change in medication or elimination of medication is discussed with FAF in advance of their grooming appointment.
We understand that as pets age, changes in care may be needed to address multiple health issues, but these changes can also lead to staff safety issues. We just ask that we are involved in the discussion, have an agreed upon approach, and aren’t surprised with an unmedicated pet at their appointment. Please understand, should this occur, we reserve the right to refuse service and charge all fees associated with the scheduled service. Thank you for understanding our need to balance pet and staff safety.
We do reserve the right to charge a service fee above our base rates for pets who pose increased risk to staff safety or whose behaviors aren’t easily managed through altered processes or medication.
Veterinary Care/Emergencies:
For FAF to provide your pet with the best possible services it is important for us to be looped in on your pet’s health status. By agreeing to these policies, I permit my veterinary clinic to release medical information that may be relevant to my pet receiving grooming services. Further, I permit FAF to seek treatment for my pet, if it appears to have an illness or injury that would reasonably suggest it may need immediate medical attention.
FAF works with Minnesota Valley Pet Hospital located at 1541 Adams St. in Mankato. If your veterinary team is local and near MVPH, we would make every reasonable effort to contact your clinic first. In the event this isn’t possible, we ask our clients to entrust your pet’s care to the staff of FAF and MVPH. Agreeing to these policies is giving consent to emergency care if you are unable to be reached in advance.
Drop off/Pick Up:
FAF only offers services by appointment. We are happy to get you in on the same day if our schedule permits!
Dropping off: we know getting your pet to where they need to go can cause issues getting to work on time. So, we allow flexibility for dropping off before your scheduled appointment time if your pet is comfortable hanging out in a kennel. However, it doesn’t mean your pet will be started or completed early. We do ask that you arrive a little early or on time for your appointment. Being late could result in booking fees or pre-payments being retained and service refused or rescheduled.
Picking up: when services are complete, we prefer to get your pet home as soon as possible, because we know that is where they are happiest! We prefer that you pick up within 30 minutes of being notified that services are complete. If you need to leave them with us for the day, generally, we can accommodate that. While your pet is in our care, please just be sure to keep an eye on your phone in case we need your pet picked up sooner than expected. Additional service fees may be added to your final cost if pets are not picked up prior to our closing for the day. Any reference to “store” hours online are generalities. We close when our work is done and pets are picked up.
Grooming Frequency:
Keeping pets on a regular schedule helps our staff maintain a relationship with them and ideally keeps them in good shape so that grooming isn’t painful. Most pets should be seen at least every 8 weeks. Many pets should be seen more often. Keeping nails at a proper length also requires services minimally every two weeks. Pets who aren’t seen at least every eight weeks may have additional service fees added to our base rates.
Photo & Video Release:
I understand that FAF may take pictures or video of my pet during the groomingprocess. These materials are the property of FAF and I consent to the use of these materials for marketing or promotional purposes. We promise to respect your sensitivities so please notify us if you are uncomfortable with your pet appearing on social media, our website or in other media such as TV ads.