A Critter’s Groom & Board

Here’s another Golden Gem I am recommending. Teresa is a skilled groomer with a big heart as observed by the number of dogs she saves by adopting when no one else wants them. I used to have a snappy 6 pound Maltese mix who was not pleasant when he was groomed. Other groomers recommended he be tranquilized because they were scared to groom him. I do not like to drug my pets unnecessarily so Teresa offered that if I came and held him while she groomed him, she would continue to groom him. Up until the day he died, I would not take him anywhere else. This is a no frills location off Gude Drive and Teresa is very knowledgeable with the dog personalities. I am a loyal customer of many years based on her competent grooming skills. And I also confidently board my dogs there too.

Teresa has done excellent grooming for me for over 5 years. Always cheerful and great with the dogs. Jimmy R

Teresa is wonderful! My husband has been taking his dogs there for years, so she knows us well and is always willing to fit in a quick nail trim for us when we need it. Our two chihuahua mixes are a pain to deal with and she handles them like a champ. We now live in DC, but it’s worth the trip for us to take them to Teresa.

Critters did a great job with my bichon. It was my first time and the staff were more than friendly– even managing to squeeze me in on a busy Saturday. My dogs hair was cut and blown dry well and her ears were super clean. This was the best experience I have ever had with a dog groomer and I will definitely recommend and be going back to Critters!

My little rescue shih/​tzu poodle was in need of grooming and I was very worried, I’m not good at doing it myself and she was very resistant to my efforts. A friend recommended that I take her to Teresa at Critters and I was both touched and thrilled… at the outcome. Touched, because I saw a staff member walking around the block with a blind dog in his arms, the dog was too crippled to walk by himself, but Teresa felt that he would still enjoy a little time outside, and I’m sure that he did!
First of all, Poppy not only looked beautiful when Teresa finished, she was VERY relaxed, she had an instinctive trust of Teresa… she didn’t even acknowledge me when I came back to pick her up, I guess she was so pleased with being pampered! …The full service price that included everything was very reasonable.
Knowing that Teresa and her staff really love the animals makes this experience
pleasant for both owners and pets, and of course, they are technically very careful and thorough!

The BEST groomer in Montgomery County. Theresa is extremely talented and wonderful with animals. We’ve taken our 70 lb white, fluffy, mixed breed to A Critter’s for years and he always comes home looking great and happy. We have tried other groomers over the years with this dog and others, but Theresa is by far the best. I think the location is great. It’s convenient to Rockville and Gaithersburg. It is in a warehouse-​like area but I like that better than other boarding facitlites that don’t have as much room. I highly recommend this business!

Theresa, Moe, and the rest of the staff are great with the dogs in general, and Theresa is especially fantastic with our rescued poodle Dorothy. since Dorothy started out afraid of everything, and Theresa spent the extra time to work with her a little at a time (clip a little, put her down, clip a little more). Dorothy still doesn’t care for her feet getting shaved, but seems fine (almost happy) to visit on «spa» days. Dorothy is also pretty happy to go with Moe, and get her shampoo.
Yes, the facility is in an industrial park, not a fancy shopping center, but that is reflected in the reasonable prices you’ll pay. The dogs don’t seem to care if there is an upscale food, shoe or clothing shop next door.

This is the best groomer I have been to and after this wonderful service, I have officially switched over! I love the shop! It is so friendly and nature loving. It is not your typical made-​for-​Hollywood shop with useless items for sale and decorations. It is a real, honest-​to-​goodness groomery where animals feel happy –see the cute kitties on the desk!-and are truly loved and cared for. I am so happy for the Unilocal reviews that lead me there and I am happy to now write one of my own. WONDERFUL! My dog is clean from head to toes! Ears done-​check! Toes done-​check! Face clean-​check! Eyes –check! Butt-​Check! Nice smooth cut-​check! Happy dog-​check!
Thank you so much for having a no-​frills, honest-​to-​goodness business. Please don’t ever change. I think I heard the manager say they have done this for 40 years, so I think they will always be a groomer I can depend on. AND THEY DO CATS! SWEET!
It is located in an industrial section– but once you turn onto the street you see the sign. Not far off from Frederick Road.

Awesome place! We found a stray dog, completely matted and uncomfortable, on Friday night. Called A Critter’s Saturday morning (probably the busiest day of the week) and they told us to come on over. Our new pup looks great and we’ll be back again and again. P. S. — our vet said that he looked great and complimented the job they did.

I love Critter’s Groom and Board!
Theresa, the owner, is fantastic with my overly neurotic German Shepard. She is extremely knowledgeable, and always happy to offer help and advise on all aspects of dog ownership. All the staff are kind, and clearly all ‘animal people’.
Theresa also does an amazing job grooming this rather tricky breed — and offers options on length and style for summer cuts. She does, by far, the best cut I’ve ever had done on my dog.
Critter’s has often helped me out with boarding, with little or no notice, without complaint or fuss. The fact that they are a ²⁴⁄₇ operation is very convenient. And their rates are excellent.
Don’t be put off by the location… Critter’s is a gem in hiding!

Theresa does a great job with providing personalized attention to your animal. She let me know exactly what was happening to my cat during the grooming process and exactly when she was doing it. Our little guy has a serious problem with hairballs, so we gave him a break from the constant vomiting by getting his hair cut. Theresa made the effort to double check that I wanted him cut and explained in detail how he would look and how it would change his color, the blade was using, etc.
I had another cat groomed in Arlington when I lived there and paid about $ 50 more for a HORRIBLE job. This place is reasonably priced and very customer friendly. And they do a really great job.

I am very happy with Theresa and her staff… and so is my little Angel! She is fussy about certain parts of her bathing & grooming, but she comes out looking good and feeling great! They are great about getting you in when you need it, and the price is terrific! It is kind of a funky location, but all the people are kind and professional, and the other critters are fun!

I just moved to Rockville a few months ago and had been looking for a good kennel. Critters came highly recommended by a few neighbors and I have not been disappointed! Theresa (the owner) is very caring and has trained her staff to take great care of the animals.
The only reason I have given 4 stars instead of 5 is that they mix the big and small dogs in one area. Having a small dog, I usually prefer kennels that keep them separated.

This is not an upscale borading facility. I don’t know why I’m having such a horrible time finding a Luxury Cat boarding facility in the Rockville/​Bethesda area. This place got seemingly good reviews on Unilocal and google and
— so I thought it would be OK… until I got there. The place is in the ghetto of an industrial community. A warehouse. I would not spend time here after dark.
I must say the staff is very nice and I am sure they love animals. I could imagine them on that TV show– animal hoarders.
They have two entrances– one for dogs the other for cats. I first walked in to the dog side and immediately was overwhelmed with the smell of animal feces and the roaring sound of dogs barking. I noticed there were several dog carriers stackup on each other– with dogs in them. Some carriers even had multiple dogs in the same carriers. I’m talking about the portable carriers– not the crates or kennels. I returned the next day and saw that the same dogs were in those carriers. I hate to think that they keep dogs overnight like that.
Anyways– on the cat side there were several smalldogs runnin amock humping each other. Several exotic birds. Several cats roaming around– I hope these were the owners cats. It was very loud and smelled of cat pee.
I left my cat there for one night– and decided I could not let her stay there for a full week as I planned. I decided to delay my trip so I could rescue my cat and find alternate accomodations.
This is not a nice place for cats. It might be a cool place for dogs IF they aren’t kept in their carriers.

I was looking for a place to board my dog and I’m so happy I found this one!
Theresa (the owner) truly cares about animals and makes sure that she has a staff that does as well. They take out the dogs for a walk at least 6 times a day and they always make sure to have clean beds for them. In addition to that, they administer medications and even go above and beyond if something else is needed (such as clipping nails and other icky stuff I won’t go into here). All this for a reasonable rate at $ 21 a day (for a small dog). They also provide cat boarding!
I never worry about leaving my little guy here – he loves it and they love him!