Illustration of a woman opening a door into darkness with "STRANGER DANGER" text above.

by Chris Anthony

As a house-call groomer, the connections we make with our clients and their pets can be far deeper than those made in a salon setting. Being able to see the pet in its own environment and watching their genuine interactions with their family can be so rewarding. However, there is an “elephant in the room.”

There is always that first meeting—and even the first few appointments—where we’re entering a stranger’s home and setting up shop for a few hours. This requires not only a strong sense of self to tell someone what to do in their own home but also how to keep ourselves safe while we’re doing it. So, let’s dive into the deep end and talk personal safety as a house-call groomer.

It starts with the first contact. That very first call or text with the client can tell us a lot. If you are more comfortable with texting, by all means follow up by text, but a brief phone call is highly recommend. Not only is tone easier to read on a call as opposed to text, but it’s also a good way to tell if the person matches the voice. If they give you a bad feeling, don’t book the appointment.

Besides finding out the immediate importance of whether they are even in your service area, how did they hear about you? While client referrals are golden in every business, they are outright diamond-encrusted platinum for house-call groomers, and they have the added benefit of being pre-vetted by our existing clients. As long as they aren’t someone they just met on the street or at the dog park, they are more than likely in your service area and known well enough to existing clients to address safety concerns.

Once you’ve had a phone conversation and, most importantly, gotten their address, do your research—Google searches and street views are your friend. Did they say it was a house and an apartment shows up or, worse, an abandoned-looking lot? A 30-second search may have just saved you. Getting the client’s address before officially confirming their appointment eliminates the stress of being in your car, ready to go, waiting on a text back before you head there. It also allows you to plan your route.

Don’t be afraid to Google search your prospective clients’ names, either. There is an app available in the U.S. called “Citizen: Protect the World” that offers a paid version, but the free version still allows you to see the first name, initial of the last name and the area. You can use the free version to check the area, then Google search the exact name and address on the sex offender registry if something pops up too close for comfort.

When it comes to any appointment, you should have a schedule or calendar that a friend or partner has access to so someone always knows where you are supposed to be. But when you go into a newer client’s home, make a safety call to a friend or partner. It can even be a message left on voicemail—no one needs to know you’re talking to a recording. This lets the client know that someone else knows exactly where you are and expects to hear from you in a specific time frame. There are also apps like Life360 that track where you are, which you can use as an added layer of protection to let your family keep track of you.

There is always the chance that you are mid-groom and something seems wrong—maybe the vibes are off or someone on the premises is displaying outright bad behavior. Getting out is your first priority. If you feel in danger and time is an issue, you are more valuable than all of your equipment—get out of the home and leave all your stuff if you need to. Make the call from a safe place (like locked in your car), and the police will escort you back to the home to gather your equipment.

A simple graphic featuring two dark red lightning bolts on a white background.
Can this be embarrassing and stressful? Sure. But it’s better to be around to be embarrassed and stressed than injured or not around at all. Are you worried about a bad review? You can reply to all reviews, positive or negative. Did things escalate to the point that you had to call the police? Put that in the reply and describe the exact situation that made you feel unsafe, and do not apologize for prioritizing your personal safety. It’s likely that any sane person would take their review down after being publicly called out for making a service provider feel that level of unease in their home.

The most important thing about staying safe during house-call grooming is listening to your gut. We trust our instincts with the pets in our care, and we should listen to them for ourselves as well. Pay attention to your surroundings—even while focusing on the pet, we can keep an ear out for what’s going on around us.

More of the skills we already have are transferable to house-call grooming than we realize. Listen to and trust your instincts—you are wiser than you know!

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