Are pet groomers allowed to operate in Ontario?

There has been province-wide confusion regarding whether pet groomers are allowed to operate, as lockdown legislation from the Ford government leaves some room for interpretation.

The only indication of animal care is the twenty-second bullet point of the document, last updated February 1. 

22. (1) Veterinary services that are,

(a)  necessary for the immediate health and welfare of the animal; or

(b)  provided through curbside pickup and drop-off of the animal.

(2) Other businesses that provide services to animals that are necessary for their health and welfare, including farms, boarding kennels, stables, animal shelters and research facilities.

(3) Nothing in this Order precludes a person responsible for a boarding kennel or stable from allowing an animal’s owner or their representative to visit the animal, assist in the care or feeding of the animal or, as applicable, ride the animal where necessary for the health and welfare of the animal.

“Other businesses that are necessary for their health and welfare” has been the sticking point for many groomers and municipalities in the province, as some situations of grooming could be needed for an animal's welfare.

A petition gaining traction online is calling for Ontario to allow groomers to operate with curbside pickup of animals. As of Tuesday, over 18,000 had signed.

While many pet owners are calling for groomers to be allowed to operate, groomers themselves want clarity above anything.

“It's very confusing, nobody seems to put anything in writing that makes it clear whether dog groomers can work,” said Pauline Broadhurst, Secretary of the Ontario Dog Groomers Association. “Some of the municipalities and the mayors of those municipalities have gone out and said that we can groom, however, yesterday I spoke to somebody at the Solicitor General's office, and they said, 'Absolutely not,' groomers were not allowed to groom, and dog walkers were not allowed to walk.”

Region of Waterloo Public Health offered their clear interpretation of the rules in an email to 570 NEWS, saying that their understanding is that pet grooming is not permitted under the lockdown guidelines.

The interpretation appears to change depending on location, however, something that's having unintended consequences during a stay-at-home order: people travelling to areas where they can get their pets groomed.

In Halton, for example, groomers were given the green light, leading to calls from people in Toronto and other areas willing to travel.

Guelph appears to also be allowing groomers to operate in emergency situations, according to a screenshot provided by the ODGA.

“In some circumstances this would include businesses which provide health-related preventative care provided by groomers, however only to the extent that any grooming is not done for cosmetic reasons alone,” said the response in part. “Grooming work related to issues that, if left untreated, would lead to veterinary intervention such as safe removal of severe matting, cutting overgrown nails that lead to gait problems, infections or injuries, and skin conditions, would be seen as necessary for health & welfare of the animal.” 

“It's so vague and so different in every region, there just needs to be a province-wide clarification of what groomers can do,” said Broadhurst. “At least then, if they say yes, throughout the province we can groom, we know we're going to be covered through our insurance, whereas now it's all up in the air.”

The interpretation can also change depending on who you contact from the same municipality, as Broadhurst provided 570 NEWS with screenshots of email replies from municipalities with conflicting information. 

In a perfect world, Broadhurst said that she would want groomers to be able to operate on an emergency basis when it is clarified by the province. For now, many are referring their clientele to local veterinarians, which can bog down already busy pet doctors and result in much higher bills for the pet owner.