Vanessa’s Pet Spa

Let me begin by saying I do have a special needs dog which needed to be taken into account. He has a history of a type of seizure –not biologically based but mental a type of mental checking out — a coping mechanism my vet finally diagnosed. He is a dog that really loves to please you & fantastic with tootlers who pull & yank on his tail, ears & hair. He will give his best at everything he does but once in a while if something becomes too much then he has anxiety attacks. They are very serious attacks. He is so cute and cuddly & obedient you would never think he has this.
I set out to find someplace that would accommodate him. The first two did not work out. I was referred to Vanessa & Initially I explained it all to her with emphasis on instructions to «never ever force him to do anything». Just ask him and he will give you his best, however if you find he «Doesn’t Want To» then please skip it and I promise I will pay the full amount always.
Just know my dog is more important than the trim. You will not get a complaint about the trim from me. It’s my dog I worry about. He gets trimmed because he doesn’t like long hair and heat. He knows when his hair is long that things stick to him and its hot. He knows when his hair is short– he can do things— he will not do— when his hair is long. He is aware of the difference.
All of this I politely explained to Vanessa and asked her if she wanted to trim him and she yes, no problem. 3 trims later at Vanessa’s she said «He growled at her» and she became afraid so, Chantal, had to finish him up. Chantal said she had no problem with Snickers and understood totally what I meant, but again, I explained everything to Chantal so there was no misunderstanding about his anxiety attacks.
NOTE: That day he growled at Vanessa —I found a Big cut on his lip and a sizeable scrap by the shears over his Eye— I thought, hum. no wonder.
Each time I brought him in I explained to Chantal, that my dogs attitude came first and that is number one priority to me, not how good the cut looks. They were clear that if my dog didn’t want to cooperate on anything that is totally fine by me and just do what you can, I will always pay you the full amount, no worries. Each time I reminded her of his delicate nature & please default to his attitude about whatever.
Chantal was excellent for several years and I tipped her well each time or at least I thought I was tipping well given the cut was $ 80 for a small (overweight) 30lb dog with a crazy insane cute nature «to people & small children» .She cut him for about 2 years though he did shiver a bit before he would enter. It was good for the 2 years but the last appointment was something else.
My last appointment at begging of April was 3pm and an odd hot day. Chantel called at 1pm & sounded stressed saying 2 large dogs «Unexpectedly» were pushed on her and her back was giving her problems today. She asked if we would come at 3:30 instead and pick up a little late. I asked her what would be best to which she said her next appt was 3 weeks so just come today. I again asked are you sure and she replied yes.
I was there early. I went in & Snickers came up with is happy dance & she said «I gave him some water»…I didn’t think anything of it but heard Snickers do a gasping cough and then Chantel said again «don’t worry, I gave him some water»…I looked at Snickers and I knew something was wrong … Picked Snickers up threw all the money on the counter said keep it and ran to the car. The 15 min drive Snickers was gasping for air with his eyes wide open scared to death looking at me in the eyes the entire trip to Bishop Ranch, the only place I knew was open with vets available. He stuck his head out the window on my lap many times trying to get air but he couldn’t & the look he gave me sunk my heart. It seemed a lifetime. Kept telling Snickers —Snickers Doctor, —Snickers Doctor, plus —Snickers Ok, —Snickers Ok, —words he understood. It was horrific for both of us. I died a little bit on that journey. Vets stabilized him with steroid shots, xrays etc & a written recommendation to be sure and find a groomer that is capable with special needs dogs.
So, that one little visit I almost lost my dog. He & I both suffered a horrendous amount that day. I had lost my son 6mo earlier and then I lost my horse of 15 years so you can imagine what I was going through. Last but not least that hair cut cost me a total of $ 585.

Still a satisfied customer more than two years later. When you ask «Do you wanna go see Chantal?» and your dog jumps into the car, you know you’re leaving it in good hands.

If I could give 0 stars I would. My dog is very easy going and loves just about anybody. She’s the kind of dog I don’t have to worry about where she is. I took here many years ago and after that swore I would never take her back. They were very rude to me and did not want to properly groom my dog. She came back home from there and stayed in the corner for a few days scared. They said my dog was snippy and they couldn’t take care of her which I know not to be the case. Found a better groomer now, and she goes there happily and returns happily.

Based on Unilocal reviews I figured I’d give this place a shot. When I got to the shopping center, they were impossible to find, I had to call and ask plus walk into another business to see where they were located. They had no labeling or anything. On top of that when I got inside the place was filthy nasty, there was pet hair everywhere and it wasn’t contained at all. My dog doesn’t need a bath in fur she needs a bath in water and shampoo. I will not and don’t ever plan on returning here. But also some good things, they did apologize for the long wait, said she is welcome back-​what does that mean? Do they tell people to never bring your pet back? Vanessa called and said I had left a collar there, that was very sweet.

We took our pup here several times, and the quality of the service went down each time. I took him in yesterday and showed the groomer that his ears weren’t being cut enough at each groom, and were so long that they were getting in his food dish. I demonstrated how short I wanted it to be, and the ears were barely trimmed and were completely uneven. It looks embarrassing.
His nails were just slightly filed, and were left way too long. Additionally, he had a large mat in his tail that I spent time carefully taking out once we got home.
This business charges a lot, and I should not have to cut nails, de-​mat, and fix a bad haircut the same day as a groom.
I will not be returning.

Always super nice, they listen, they care, they call, and are always done earlier than they say they will be!

Vanessa’s never disappoints! I always bring my big border collie baby Hope here, and she always goes in as a mangy mess and comes out looking like a show dog!
Her white fur is bright, she is neatly trimmed in all the correct places (border collies generally only need the haunches and legs/​feet cut around), and she smells divine (she gets real stinky)!
I will always bring Hope here! :)

My search for a groomer is over! I tried several places in the area… seemed like one expensive disaster to the next — until I tried Vanessa’s! My dog has now been groomed by several of her groomers and all of them have been great. Their time estimates have always been accurate and I couldn’t be happier!

I have tried a few different grooming places over the past couple of years… and I have to say, Vanessa’s has finally ended my search! Kelsey did an outstanding job and finished in a timely manner, unlike PetSmart and others who literally have your pet for what seems like an eternity.

Based on Unilocal reviews, I took my 14 year old toy poodle in to be groomed. Am I ever SORRY that I trusted Unilocal!
Just to be safe for my dog’s first grooming at Vanessa’s, I created a drawing with full instructions as to how my toy poodle should be groomed. It was totally ignored! In the 12 years that I’ve been having my dog groomed, NO ONE HAS EVER RUINED HER LIKE THIS! Not only was her body and legs shaved down way too low (especially in January), it was uneven, and no hair was left on the back of her neck! She was shaved all the way up to the pompom on her head. Worse yet, even after I verbally and graphically drew a pompom tail, her tail was totally shaved off! All that is left is a BARE STUMP! She was shaved like a short-​hair hunting dog, not a poodle!
To add insult to injury, after being quoted $ 70.00, I received a phone call from Vanessa requiring a $ 100.00 fee for a thorough brush-​out versus a shorter cut. I opted for the $ 70.00 shorter cut, but expected it to be evenly trimmed, not leaving her naked! When my friend, as a favor to me, picked up my poor little dog, Vanessa charged $ 80.00.
On top of all of this, even though I was told that it would take three hours, from 9 — noon, allowing me to get to a doctor appointment in Concord at 2:00 PM, my dog wasn’t ready until after 1:30 PM!
If anyone out there knows of a really good groomer, please let me know! I will never return to Vanessa’s!

One of the best in the area. We loved taking lucky there, our cavalier king charles spaniel. After trying out many we finally found one that Lucky is happy to go to. Vanessa has been great with his grooming needs and is gentle too.
We are lucky to have a good one close by.

Always take my dog Hercules (mini yorkie) here and Vanessa does such a great job with him. He get a little squirmy when it comes to cutting his nails, but I love how she talks to him to make him feel a little better about it. Love this place and Hercules does too!

Chantal has been grooming my beastly Shepherds for a few years now. She is the only one who can handle my Shiloh Shepherd, Maddi, who is a huge dog (110lbs) with an extremely long and thick coat. Maddi loves her, and she is difficult to groom. She always looks like a new dog when she comes out. Chantal truly loves dogs and she has a «dog whisperer» touch with them. I highly recommend. She’s the best!

We have had our dog groomed here a handful of times now, at first I was pleased and praised them to everyone. Now it seems they have just gotten lazy, the first experience is the only one they try to make pleasant. My dog loves them! But we will not be coming back.

I am so happy with how they listen to what my dogs needs are and groom her just they way i want her done very helpful staff and they place is busy with repeat customers so i know it’s a place to drop off a member of my house hold. Thanks Vanessa.

I’ve taken my beloved Sheltie to Vanessa for her grooming since Vanessa opened her doors. When my dog was groomed by Vanessa, candidly it was absolutely perfection. The first time someone groomed her other than Vanessa, a «furminator» was used on a double coated dog. I can’t imagine how painful it was plus my dog looked awful. So going forward, I always asked for Vanessa to groom her. But now that she has gotten so big and busy, well… just anybody it seems would groom her. Sometimes, good… sometimes, not so good. When I expressed my confusion and dismay to Vanessa the last time I brought Glitter in for grooming, well… sadly, there wasn’t even an apology from the owner. All she told me was that she was on vacation. Odd, I made the appointment with Vanessa to groom my dog over 8 weeks ago. Now I am now looking for a new groomer.

The first few times I went to Vanessa’s were perfect. Vanessa did the actual grooming and she did a great job. Unfortunately, the last two times the grooming was performed by someone else with no so favorable results. In particular, during my last visit the groomer removed a couple of healing scabs on my dog’s ears and he now looks like there’s a chunk missing from both. Hopefully it will return to normal but forcing a scab off is most certainly not an acceptable practice.

I am so pleased with my experience here. My baby came out looking like a new dog! & they sprayed him with doggy cologne :)
The ladies cut him exactly how I asked and he seemed so happy to go to the staff, wasn’t nervous at all. well worth it!

Took my shy pooch there and they must have been wonderful because she didn’t pee on herself when I dropped her off and she was not shaking at all when I picked her up.
She looked adorable too!
Will definitely be heading back there.

This place was an incredible find. I made an appointment for Madden based on these reviews and I was not disappointed. Madden came back looking wonderful and feeling like a new dog.
I was so pleased that I brought my new foster dog with alopecia x to Vanessa’s as well. They treated her like a little princess. I knew that this foster dog’s coat (what was left of it) was in poor shape and that with her alopecia would probably lose a lot more hair but when I picked her up she looked fabulous and although I know a lot of the dead hair was gone she did not look as though she had lost more hair.
Don’t hesitate to make an appointment at Vanessa’s Pet Spa