Class code 9110-2 — Pet Grooming/Boarding

This classification covers pet grooming and boarding businesses that groom, feed, and house household pets such as dogs and cats. It applies to standalone grooming shops, boarding kennels, and combined facilities offering both services.

Staff bathe and groom animals using clippers, dryers, and grooming tools, walk and exercise boarded pets, clean kennels and living areas, and monitor animals for health or behavioral concerns throughout the day. Payroll includes groomers, kennel attendants, and front-desk staff handling drop-off and pickup.

Handling live animals — some of which are anxious, unfamiliar with the facility, or simply unpredictable — creates a distinct injury exposure not found in typical retail settings, including bites, scratches, and strains from restraining larger dogs. This animal-handling risk places the classification above standard retail but generally below more physically demanding trades.

An underwriter evaluating a grooming or boarding business typically asks about the size and temperament mix of animals handled, since a facility working mostly with large or unfamiliar dogs carries more bite and restraint exposure than one focused on smaller, regular clients. Payroll should separate groomers who perform hands-on styling from kennel staff who primarily feed and walk animals, since the intensity of animal contact differs between those roles. Loss control tends to focus on proper restraint equipment, staff training on reading animal body language, and secure kennel latches to prevent escapes.