Biography

The Shaggy Dog was established in 1976 by Veronica "Cookie" Kaplan-Gallea. Cookie is the daughter of an internationally renowned horseshoer. Animals were a central part of her upbringing. Dogs, cats, bunnies, fish and even a horse in the backyard were a part of her family. She developed a deep love and respect for animals.

Dog Cookie's dad was a perfectionist who instilled in her the importance of excellence and pride in your work. A job was not ever "good enough" unless it was perfect. Shortcuts were never taken, nor ethics compromised for any reason. This is the credo by which Cookie grooms dogs and runs her business by.

Her training in dog grooming was a 3-year apprenticeship at a prestigious kennel in Rockland County. Her teacher was a master groomer who taught Cookie all breeds as well as show grooming.

At age 21, she came to N.Y. to open The Shaggy Dog. The business was a great success. Eight years later she married Bob Gallea, who owned an exclusive men's clothing store. When they started a family Bob sold his store and brought his people skills and retail experience to manage The Shaggy Dog, making it truly a family business.

Their children, Eric and Krista, were raised among the cats and dogs and learned the basics of the business. Both worked at the store as teenagers and are currently helping out part time.

Danny Valentin came to The Shaggy Dog in 1983 as a bather. He learned to groom and rose through the ranks to head- groomer. He has been working his magic with pets at The Shaggy Dog for 25 years and is still going strong.

Objectives and Philosophy

The Shaggy Dog's prime objective is to make each and every pet look it's own, unique best and to provide a comfortable, safe and positive experience for pet and owner alike. The grooming facility is in full view of the public to ease any anxiety an owner may have about what goes on at the groomer. This, in turn, calms a pet's possible trepidation about being left.

We use calming techniques when handling animals, always trying to win their trust and confidence. The over 50 years of combined experience usually allows us to do just that. Many of our "regulars" pull their owners into the shop, loving every minute of the pampering they receive during their grooming.

Even when dealing with a ''tough customer" we do everything humanly possible to establish a relationship of trust through constant reassurance that no harm will come to them. While this usually works, a muzzle is used only in extreme cases.

We would never, under any circumstance, use tranquilizers. We believe it is far better to deal with a completely alert animal to determine why they are aggressive. Generally they are just frightened from a past experience or fear the unknown. Again, we use our considerable experience to teach them to trust us and cooperate. In some extremely rare cases an owner will opt to have their vet sedate an animal before grooming but this should be discussed with us in advance.

Cat Our clientele range from neighborhood folks to celebrities, professionals, and politicians, but each animal in our care is treated with the same loving care as if they were our own.

Location:
400 East 88
New York, NY 10128
Phone: 212-289-0198
E-mail: cookieg54@aol.com