During these unprecedented times it’s important to ensure that not only our human family members remain safe, but our four legged friends as well. The following are steps that we are taking at Furology to remain safe and could prompt questions for you to ask your groomer to see what they are doing to keep everyone safe.
1) Drop offs
It’s not new for Furology to offer curbside pick up and drop off – it’s part of our normal operating procedure. It’s convenient, easy, and safe. What we do ask is that all collars, leashes, harnesses and clothing are removed from the pet prior to transfer. We safely walk our clients into the salon on a secure nylon slip lead that is disinfected between each pet. For safety reasons we do not go into a vehicle but ask that our guests place their pet on the ground and allow us to safely secure a slip lead before they remove their pet’s accessories. Why do we do this? Contamination on surfaces is a primary way that the COVID-19 virus can spread. This eliminates contact within the salon with any human guests. It keeps our home and salon safer.
2) Disinfecting Routine
There is already a general disinfecting routine that we follow between each guest. Regardless of COVID-19 there are countless reasons to disinfect tools and surfaces between services. Animals can carry a range of germs and bacteria that is easily spread between them. Imagine going to a hairdresser that did not bother to disinfect their tools between clients. Yuk. The bathing tub, grooming table, blades, combs, brushes, and grooming loop are all disinfected thoroughly between pets. This is nothing new for us and should not be newly implemented at any salon. It's a standard safety practice that should be done regularly. After a service is completed and a pet is returned to their family the floor area surrounding the table and entry into the salon area is also disinfected thoroughly.
3) Payment methods
While we still accept all forms of payment, many guests have opted for electronic invoices instead of using traditional debit cards or checks. We have the ability to e-mail invoices directly to you to even further lessen any points of contact. Unfortunately this is not a service we offer for first time guests. We learned the hard way after a few bad apples never submitted payment for their services (By the way, groomer black lists exist and we do communicate to each other :). Don’t be surprised or offended if your groomer doesn’t offer this method of payment.
Keep in mind that at this time the CDC has no reason to believe that animals in the United States can be a source of infection for COVID-19. There have been domestic pets and animals diagnosed, the closest being a Pug in Chapel Hill; but there is no evidence of humans becoming ill from their pets. However, it’s important to maintain proper social distancing for pets and humans alike because the truth is, they just don’t know if it’s transmissible between pets.
Please stay safe and take care of each other. Be respectful, understanding, and compassionate during this very difficult time.