COVID-19 Forces Local Pet Groomer to Close Doors Indefinitely

By Camille Davis
Special to the AFRO

Forestville-based Pooch Styles Pet Grooming has completely closed its doors, just shy of celebrating their eighth anniversary in business all due to the impact of COVID-19 on small businesses in Prince George’s County.

According to the company’s website, Pooch Styles Pet Grooming is a “full-service, pet-care salon; designed and dedicated to consistently providing superior customer service, quality pet care and furnishing a fun, clean, enjoyable atmosphere at an acceptable price.”

Owner, Kyonna F. Fields was forced to notify clients by phone of the closure, but took the final opportunity to instruct them on how to maintain their pets’ grooming care.

Financially, this pandemic has affected Fields’ business; bringing her revenue to zero. Fields is hopeful to one day reopen; yet, unsure of how she will obtain immediate or future revenue.

Fields’ subcontractors are greatly affected by this pandemic as well. Dependent on Fields’ business-to-business services, Fields vowed not to charge outstanding contractual fees and advised all subcontractors to seek out assistance offered on state and/or federal levels. She explained that practicing “Humanity Principals” versus “Business Principles” should be the priority during this time. 

Pooch Styles Pet Grooming is often considered an essential business as pets have needs; such as basic grooming (nails and fur cuts) and cleaning of ears to ensure that mites do not lodge and other pre-existing skin conditions do not progress. Fields’ business provides overall healthcare for pets.  However, due to social distancing concerns, spending is down and the term “essential” for businesses is limited.

During this downtime, Fields stands by the phone, which is normally ringing for upcoming bookings, and  finds herself reminiscing back eight years, when she first opened the doors to her Pooch Styles location. Fields suggests fellow entrepreneurs use this time to “reevaluate/redo processes and make changes to come back stronger and better than ever.”