Petco

I’ve never used the groomers but do shop here for specialty items and the large bag of Pupperoni which would be my mini dachshund’s primary food group if he had his way. Zero also loves the «doggie ice cream» which is actually peanut butter flavored yogurt. They also carry a few hard to find items including a natural calming agent I add to his water bowl. If you have ever owned a small dog you will wonder how you lived without it.
The staff here are very uninformed, not even knowing basics like which products control the local flea problem. They sent me on a wild goose chase saying only the $$$ collar or prescription meds will work. I knew this was false since I had only moved across town when Zero suddenly had a bad case of fleas. Instead of taking the advice here I bathed him in blue Dawn and made sure my land lady’s cats were treated. Sure enough she had forgotten to dose them, so my dog was simply getting their fleas since he is friends with her elderly cat.
If you know what you want and have done price comparisons you’ll be fine here.

Pretty limited selection of dog toys here which was kinda depressing. Still they did have the exercise pen I was looking for.

Took my dog here to be groomed while visiting Santa Barbara for the weekend since my dog decided to would be fun to go swimming in the lagoon on the UCSB campus. Unfortunately I was not prepared for this and couldn’t yell at her to get out fast enough and my dog ended up covered in murky lagoon water… Anyways I called Petco around 2:30 on a Saturday and they were able to squeeze us in. I was so glad they were willing to take my dog last minute. My dog Stella was there for about an hour an a half for a standard bath and brush. They also up sold me on a teeth cleaning treatment.
When I picked her up she smelled and looked good. Unfortunately I noticed a few mats they didn’t get out, but overall they did a decent job and I am thankful they were willing to get her in last minute. I saw two different employees in the grooming area and they were both very friendly and seemed to take good care of the dogs. Also while I was in there I checked out a display for the thunder shirt (anti-​anxiety shirt for dogs). A nice employee noticed me reading the box and came over to see if I had any questions. He gave me some tips for how to deal with my dogs anxiety when she is left alone and was overall very helpful.

Other options?
This is a relatively small Petco with a a staff not on their A game. Hard to get help down the empty isles. Upon checkout, the cashier was confused by the register prompts and had to ask a manager over.
Customer service is not the key here folks… but should be. We love our animals now love the customers.
Not their fault but the hard to manage parking lot may be the most frustrating in Santa Barbara. I won’t go to this Trader Joe’s because of it.
Room to grow Petco

This place is dirty and unorganized. The grooming salon is great though! Everyone is super friendly and Nora always does a fantastic job! The actual store though is just a disapointment (bad management).