El Paso City Council Approves New Dog Groomer Ordinance

El Paso City Council is making the city's pets a little safer after approving new safety guidelines at their regular weekly meeting.

The city’s pet groomers will now have to follow some guidelines that are the first of their kind in the nation. Groomers will now have to get training certifications before applying for a groomer’s license. Staff members at a pet grooming business will now have to get background checks. Hygiene and safety measures will be getting tighter in order to make sure that the groomers is a safe and healthy space for pets. Most importantly, you will no longer have to watch your pet getting carried off behind closed doors to get groomed because groomers will have to offer a place for pet owners to be able to watch the grooming process as it’s happening.

After the July death of a four month old puppy, Luca, El Paso Animal Services, the El Paso Police Department’s Animal Cruelty Unit, the El Paso Animal Shelter Advisory Committee and community stakeholders got together to put regulations into effect to make sure a pet didn't suffer at the hands of a groomer again.

Luca's pet parents lost their sweet pup after a grooming appointment and their story went viral after it was shared on social media. After the story was posted, other pet parents came forward and told their horror stories about groomers. It's hard to believe that there were no ordinances of the kind that were passed this week by City Council, but now there are. City Council will have meetings with groomers between September through December to bring them up on what will be expected under the ordinance.

The new pet ordinances will go into effect January 1, 2021.