A Dog's Life

The 11 best places to pamper your pet in Dallas

Doting on our precious pooches and feline friends is pure pleasure when you've got the proper resources. In Dallas, many businesses have elevated pet care and supplies of all manner to high art. These shops cater to those who adore their animals and want the best of everything, from day care and dog walking to stylish carriers and adorable accessories.

We've updated our list from a few years ago — some places still earn a place in the primo pampering pantheon of North Texas. Other businesses have joined the ranks of the best spots to indulge your furbaby, from food and supplies to grooming, boarding, exercise, and overall care.

Ardy’s For Paws
Don’t let the lack of glitz and glam of Ardy’s Far North Dallas strip center shop distract you — groomers Ronny Junkins, Brenda Moore, and Clay Williams are experts at what they do. To be exact, they know how to create the perfect breed-specific fur cut for Fido. Breed-specific is the quintessential cut you think of when you imagine a breed. Lhasa Apsos are Junkins’ specialty, as he has been a top breeder and exhibitor for over 25 years. The prices are also extremely reasonable. If you want your woof to look like she belongs in Westminster, Ardy’s is the place to go.

Downtown Pawz
This all-natural pet store has earned a devoted following with stellar service and a broad selection of natural pet foods — its cat food, in particular, gets rave reviews. It's not a chichi establishment, and that seems to be part of its appeal: just the best food, dog walking, and bathing and grooming services. If scheduling is a problem, Downtown Pawz offers curbside pickup of your beloved pet, and free delivery within downtown.

Lucca Bella Doggie Spa & Boutique
Human pedicures are nothing unusual, but how about a doggie pawdicure, blueberry vanilla facial, or full-body massage? At Lucca Bella, luxe treatments are de rigueur. In the Turtle Creek couture boutique, peruse sparkly collars and beautiful accessories to make your hound look haute, or take pampering to the next level with day care for doggies under 25 pounds. Mom and dad can keep an eye on their furbaby with webcams, and there's a "pet taxi" for pickup and take-home within a 5-mile radius. The grooming facility offers aromatherapy shampoos, fur coloring, doggie perfume, and more to give dogs that je ne sais quoi.

Lucky Dog Barkery
Dapper doggies find their stylish duds at this Plaza at Preston Center pet shop, where well-dressed pets get sparkly rhinestone collars, fancy outerwear, leather leashes, and other essentials for the on-trend four-legged friend. It's equally well-known for stocking health-conscious foods and treats, whether organic, natural, or raw. Additionally, shop among the wide selection of toys, where squeakers reign supreme and there are tons of tugs, chewies, and games. Designer pet beds, bowls, art, and pet-centric gifts make for tempting buys, too.

Pawtique Grooming
This beloved East Dallas institution earns raves from clients for pet-centered care, all under the watchful eye of owner Doloris Petty, known as the "Texas Dog Whisperer." Petty and her staff offer dog grooming for all types of pooches, including puppies, seniors, those with behavioral issues, and sick or handicapped dogs. Petty has been doing business in East Dallas for many years, as her many long-term clients can attest.

The Petropolitan
Co-owner Chris Watts started The Petropolitan in 2006, when there were few other pet care options available in or near downtown. He's carved out his niche as an exceptional provider, perhaps because he treats pets like family, readily handing out his mobile phone number so owners can call in case of pet-watching emergencies (one person rung Watts at 3 am after a family emergency, needing immediate dog boarding in order to leave town). This 4,000-square-foot spot offers doggie day care and extended care, with lots of exercise and grouping of dogs based on size and temperament. There's also dog walking, longer urban hikes, and grooming services. They even offer transportation, in-home visits, and in-home overnight stays.

The Pooch Patio
If drinking "mutt-mosas" on a patio and bringing your dog along sounds like a great time, the Pooch Patio is your new favorite place. Not only can you do it casually, you can make your four-legged pal the center of attention at this Oak Lawn spot with an “ulti-mutt” birthday party. When you're busy adulting, bring your pooch here for day care, where your dog is a V.I.P. (very important pooch) in one of three environments. There's also boarding with webcams and late pickup, as well as grooming (including a DIY option for those who prefer not to mess up their home bathroom). In the retail area, browse among a seemingly endless selection of dog accessories, as well as designer pet colognes and fresh-baked organic treats.

Raw by Canines First
Raw by Canines First is to dog food what Whole Foods is to people food. This is the place to get holistic brands that are hard to find elsewhere: Orijen, Ziwi Peak, Stella and Chewy's, and Primal. Bring in your dog to try the free samples and see what he likes best. Heck, try some yourself. This is human-grade food. They’ve also got treats sure to please your pooch, like dried duck’s feet and elk antlers. As an added bonus, Raw by Canines First offers free delivery within the city of Dallas south of 635.

Three Dog Bakery
Owners Mark and Dan started baking from-scratch dog treats in the 1980s, selling them on weekends. They soon outgrew their kitchen and opened the world's first dog bakery, Three Dog, in 1989. Their selection includes wheat-free cookies; low-fat "beg-als"; oven-baked biscuits; and birthday "bone cakes" in your choice of flavors, iced with a low-lactose, low-fat yogurt frosting with carob writing on top. It's what all the pampered pooches are asking for on their birthdays. Three Dog also sells dog chews, collars, harnesses, and leashes. Three locations.

The Upper Paw
Dogs and cats clamor for the food and treats at downtown's Upper Paw, an oasis of hard-to-find brands like Victor, Pure Vita, and Nutrisca. It carries the exclusive EzyDog line of harnesses, leashes, and collars, as well as other popular brands, and a noiseless, glow-in-the-dark tag that will end the late-night clanging of metal tags that drives many pet owners crazy.

Urban Paws
The newest pet retreat in downtown, Urban Paws offers more than 19,000 square feet of oversized townhomes, indoor and outdoor parks, grooming, DIY bathing stations, and retail for discriminating pet owners. With boarding and day care, dogs get windows to look over downtown, hours of play, and the attention of staff trained to understand pack mentality. Many owners bring their four-legged friends here after playing in nearby Deep Ellum Bark Park for a bath with all-natural shampoo and add-on treatments, like the Furminator.

In addition to five-star pet food and treats, Downtown Pawz offers dog walking, bathing, and grooming services.

Photo courtesy of Downtown Pawz

In addition to five-star pet food and treats, Downtown Pawz offers dog walking, bathing, and grooming services.

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RIP to all

These notable figures with Dallas connections passed away in 2022

Photo by Jon Shapley

Meat Loaf in Austin in 2012, when he was inducted into the Texas Film Hall of Fame.

As 2022 comes to a close, we take a look back at some of the notable figures in Dallas or with Dallas connections who died this year. This year's list includes musicians, actors, media personalities, and figures from local politics.

Here's the 2022 list of notable deaths, in chronological order:

Rock star Meat Loaf, a native of Dallas known for hits such as "Paradise By the Dashboard Light," died on January 20; he was 74. Born Marvin Lee Aday, his career spanned six decades, selling more than 100 million albums worldwide and starring in more than 65 movies, including Fight Club, Focus, Rocky Horror Picture Show, and Wayne's World. Aday grew up in Dallas and was already singing and acting in high school before attending Lubbock Christian College and the University of North Texas. After moving to Los Angeles, he found massive success with Bat Out of Hell, his collaboration with songwriter Jim Steinman, which was released in 1977, won a Grammy Award, and became one of the best-selling records in history, with worldwide sales of more than 40 million copies.

Beloved rock musician Trey Johnson, a founding member of rock band Sorta, died on January 31; he was 53. Born Lewis Harlan Johnson III, Trey was a graduate of Greenhill School and the University of North Texas, and co-founder of State Fair Records, a Dallas music label that released albums by acclaimed artists such as Joshua Ray Walker, Kristy Kruger, and Eleven Hundred Springs. Sorta was an Americana rock band that released four full-length records and garnered national attention when their songs were picked up for several television series.

Dennis González, a jazz musician, artist, and teacher, died on March 15; he was 67. González recorded more than 30 albums for international and domestic jazz labels as well as his own label Daagnim Records. He was also a public school educator for decades in Dallas.

Max Glauben, a Holocaust survivor who co-founded the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum, passed away on April 28. He was 94. Glauben was a part of a group of Dallas Holocaust survivors who came together with the goal of creating a memorial center where they could remember loved ones and educate future generations about the horrors of the Holocaust. The Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum opened in downtown Dallas in 2019.

Dallas radio personality Jim White, who co-founded the Savor Dallas food festival as well as Restaurant Week, died on June 4. His wife, Vicki Briley-White, confirmed that White passed away while in hospice care, after learning he had cancer just two months before. White, who had a mellifluous voice that could melt ice, served as a news anchor and talk show host for 1080 KRLD for a decade from 1995-2004. He was probably Dallas' original foodie in his capacity as host of "The KRLD Restaurant Show with Jim White," a two-hour talk show featuring famous chefs, cookbook authors, winemakers, and restaurateurs that earned a James Beard Foundation nomination for "Best Radio Show on Food."

Dallas musician Jess Barr, a member of seminal alt-country rock band Slobberbone, passed away on December 6; he was 46. Barr was guitarist for Slobberbone during its heyday, when the quartet put its hometown Denton on the map and created a vibrant local scene at bars like the Barley House. He also played with a Slobberbone offshoot band, The Drams. In 2013, he opened Twilite Lounge, a bar in Deep Ellum, with partner Danny Balis, then opened a spinoff in Fort Worth in 2017. Both earned best bar awards and provided a platform for local musicians — another of his legacies.

Anna Casey, a formidable political consultant and strategist who worked on many pivotal campaigns in Dallas, died on December 8 after a long illness. She was 61. She was known for her difference-making work on several city propositions including helping to vanquish the proposal to build a toll road in the Trinity River, as well as for candidates for the Dallas School Board, Dallas City Council, Dallas County Commissioners Court, and Texas State House of Representatives.

Michael Lindenberger, a former writer and editor at The Dallas Morning News, died on December 11, following an illness; he was 51. Lindenberger worked for the newspaper for 14 years until 2018, when he moved to the Houston Chronicle, and was part of a team that won a Pulitzer Prize in 2022.

Hollywood actor Stuart Margolindied on December 12; he was 82. Margolin won two Emmy Awards for his role as "Angel" Martin in the TV show The Rockford Files. Although born in Iowa, he grew up in Preston Hollow and attended Hillcrest High School. In 1979, already a success in Hollywood, he moved back to Dallas for a couple of years, working on writing projects and establishing a production company River Entertainment.

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