TORONTO -- Ontario is giving pet grooming businesses the green light to reopen Thursday after they were forced to close more than a month ago.
In an email to CTV News Toronto, a spokesperson for Solicitor General Sylvia Jones confirmed the news and said that the government is “providing clarity regarding pet grooming through an amendment to O.Reg 82/20 Rules for Areas in Stage 1.”
However, the amendment is not without restrictions.
Pet grooming businesses can only open if they are providing “strictly necessary” services to prevent an animal from requiring foreseeable and reasonably imminent veterinary care.
Businesses can also provide services if the pet owner has been required to obtain them under the Provincial Animal Welfare Services Act, 2019.
The amendment stipulates that services can be provided by appointment only and that only one appointment may be made for one animal at a time.
Services must be provided by way of curbside pickup and drop-off of the animal.
The clarification comes after weeks of growing confusion among Ontario pet groomers and owners alike who questioned whether the services were deemed essential.
Those working in the pet grooming industry welcomed the news.
Linda Kilpatrick is a groomer and owner of Toronto-based PetAgree Professional Grooming and underscored the importance of a well-kept pet while speaking to CP24.
“People kind of depend on someone like myself to keep their dog in shape, keep the hair unmatted or untangled, keep the nails short and their ears clean,” she said. “It’s a busy time for people, even when it’s shut down, so they can’t always get around to the dog when they’re dealing with children.”
The Greater Toronto and Hamilton-area mayors and chairs had also asked the government to clarify the rules.
Toronto Mayor John Tory reacted to the news saying that the amendment "will help" owners and their pets.
"And I think that this suggests that there are some things that dogs have to have done that some people associate with aesthetics and appearance, but in fact have to do with their health," he said on Thursday during a virtual news conference.
Pet grooming businesses were closed when a province-wide lockdown took effect on Dec. 26. The province had previously said that grooming was only allowed when required for an animal's health and said a vet could provide those services.
MPP Christine Hogarth, who also serves as the Parliamentary Assistant to the Solicitor General, told CP24 that because there are no limits to what services pets can receive during the modified reopening, it will be up to the pet owners and groomers to determine what qualifies as necessary.
“What we don’t want is to get to a point that our dogs have to have veterinary care,” she said. “Because there are certain things that we need to look after for our pets and that’s the grooming piece, not the cosmetic stuff.”
With files from the Canadian Press
