The Sandy Paw Pet Spa and Boutique

i wandered into Sandy Paw on my walk with my dog. I needed treats, and this place was delightful. It had great dog toys, good quality food and treats. The woman who waited on me was helpful and pleasant making for a nice, welcoming, shopping experience. When I am in Winthrop, I will shop there again.

I waited a few months to write this because I was upset and I wanted to allow time to temper my feelings but, I’m just as upset many months later and want to share my experience. I would not recommend Sandy Paws Daycare. I had rescued a very sweet but nervous coonhound with separation anxiety. Granted, Bear didn’t start out well-​balanced and I took him to work with me most days but hoped that Sandy Paws would be able to work with us because he loves other dogs and I thought this would be a good exercise for him and a reprieve for me. Nope. He freaked out and had a bout of stress-​induced colitis. I tried multiple times, maybe one day went well without me getting called out of work (an hour away) they demanded that I come and get him and also requested I take him to the vet for a new parvo test and documentation that he is neutered because his flat empty scrotes weren’t enough evidence – making me wonder if they had ever worked with animals before or what the collective IQ is here. I gave up with Sandy Paws – just received huge frustration and attitude because the poop is «kind of gross to pick up» because YOU WORK WITH DOGS, people. I have been a dog walker and ran a dog daycare in JP for years (The Rovers) and took care of many sick and nervous dogs, it would never have occurred to me to call someone home from work because I had to clean up poop. This dog is a nervous high-​strung dog to begin with but, whatever they have going on here made his separation anxiety worse and my doggy days with Sandy Paw ended up with daily tears and mounting exasperation with their lack of empathy and experience. I was excited that Sandy Paws is in Winthrop and I wanted to support a local business – I was extraordinarily disappointed.

Love the BYOD concept and regularly buy Sit Stay Beg cookies. My crazy am staff puppy goes nuts for them– homemade right in Wakefield too!

I’m very concerned about the day care services of Sandy Paw. I just recently started taking my dog there, and I was told that I could not see the day care room, because there was an excitable dog in the room. Later in the day, I went back to pick up my dog and asked again to see the room. This time, I was shown a few cell phone shots of the room on a staff member’s phone, but still wasn’t allowed to personally go in. That was a bit of a red flag for me. My mother then dropped off my dog again a few days later, and mentioned to me that my dog had been a bit nervous, so my mother offered to walk the dog into the play room herself, and the staff shot her down, and would not let her enter. She voiced her concern to me that she thought that was odd for any kind of daycare establishment — dog or otherwise. I hadn’t mentioned my concern to my mother, so her’s is a second independent point of view. The excuses/​reasons seem to change every time, but I will not be going back until this policy is dropped.
I highly recommend that anyone else who takes their dog here for daycare demand to view the facilities before going again. I have no idea what the problem is, but I can’t help but think that there is something that they don’t want their customers to see.
This is a two-​star review instead of one due to the otherwise friendly staff, and the good range of toys and gourmet pet treats. The part of the store that I could see reminded me a bit of Polka Dog in the south end.

Seems as though the past few months have gone downhill, sadly. This is the second time my dog (mini schnauzer) has ended up cut and/​or with razor burn. In addition, although they had to cut her GROSSLY short due to her «extensive snarls» (even though I brushed her night before to make sure these were minimal), the cut is choppy at best and her face (also choppy) makes her look like a cross between a rat and Mr. Wigglesworth. What else should I expect from a complimentary cut?

I have a toy poodle who has been getting groomed at Sandy Paw for years. This is the only place that we have gone to that my dog walks into with his tail up. We used to have to drag him in to other groomers. Sue is just great with him. She is so sweet, and she consistently gives him a beautiful cut, complete with fluffly little pom pom tail.
Their prices are higher than others in the area last I checked, but I have such peace of mind when I drop him off that it is worth it to me.

Really nice group of people. They carry a good range of food, treats and toys. They also do grooming for you OR you can bring your pup in and have some one on one time with them. I have never seen a place that lets you do it — LOVE IT!

Very disappointed with this place they’ve lost that personal attention and good staff. DO NOT let Fatima touch your dog especially if you have a Bichon she chopped off my Bichon’s hair after I repeatedly asked her not to.

This is my third time I brought my dog (bichon frise mix) to this place for the whole work up. Second day after I picked him up I noticed he is walking funny and seems to be scooting a lot. I looked under his tail and saw a raw spot there. It was a razor burn from the clippers. I called immediately and described whats going on and asked for reimbursement. They asked me to come over only for today so they can check it out. When I arrived and showed the painfull and raw spot to the owner she offered me $ 15 dollars off from the next cut.
At first I agreed because I did not want to argue or to be mean, but now I am realizing that this was not a fair offer. My poor dog can’t sleep at all. He is waking me up from his constant licking and shaking. He is in pain and feeling uncomfortable. If I take him to the vet I would have to pay around $ 100.00 just for the visit and some medication. And I probably will have to do that anyway. They seemed like they had no concern about that.
I am very disappointed at how the owner handled the whole situation. They are proffessionals and they should not make such mistake. Dogs are living beiings and they can’t speak for themselfs. Now I feel like I paid all that money for him to go through unnecessary pain. $ 15.00 dollars won’t make it better.

We’ve been bringing our Golden Retriever here since moving to Winthrop last fall. Sue does a great job on her, she looks better than she ever has! At first we were a little surprised at the prices, but after checking with friends to compare, their pricing is right in line. And you get what you pay for.

If you aren’t taking your dog to the Sandy Paw Pet Spa then he/​she probably doesn’t like you very much. Seriously, your pet is probably giving you stank eye as you read this.
This place is a hidden gem tucked away in Winthrop.
The owner is quite possibly the sweetest lady I have ever met. Like her, the staff are all very friendly and caring. I really dislike dropping my dog off and leaving him somewhere, but I was at ease here because I can tell the staff genuinely love animals.
I’ve taken my dog here several times, but one experience that truly stands out is this: One time I called in the late afternoon on a Sunday to see if they had any appointments available that day. It was very last minute. I had an impromptu trip coming up on Monday and was taking my dog with me. The owner told me to bring him right over. She took me as a walk in and stayed past closing just to get him washed, trimmed, and groomed. It was so nice of her and I was extremely grateful.
This place has stellar customer service and is an outstanding business. Five doggie treats for you, Sandy Paw.

My almost-​2 year old puggle had been going to the same daycare in Somerville since he was 6 mths old. We just recently moved to Winthrop and I was very anxious about sending him some place new when I had such trust and peace of mind when he was at Pet Spa in Somerville. The first couple of play group visits left him nervous and a little quiet. But, by his 2^nd full day of day care he was pulling my arm off to get to the door and even sits and waits for Stephanie to come and get him. All the ladies here are fabulous and Cecil & I couldn’t be happier to have found The Sandy Paw. I highly recommend the daycare service.