The Waggy Tail

The Waggy Tail has been caring for pets on Bay Front Park Drive in Daphne since 1979, making it one of the longest continuously running pet businesses on the Eastern Shore. What began as a small pet supply operation has grown into a combined pet store, grooming salon, and pet hotel, all still run under the same family philosophy that guided the shop through its early years.

Grooming makes up a core part of the business, built on the shop’s stated belief that proper pet grooming is essential to a happy and healthy pet. Groomers handle everything from routine baths and nail trims to full breed-specific cuts for dogs of every size and coat type, working with an approach that treats each animal, in the shop’s own words, as though it were part of the family rather than just another appointment on the schedule.

Beyond grooming, The Waggy Tail operates an on-site pet hotel offering boarding, giving Daphne pet owners a local alternative to national boarding chains or leaving pets with unfamiliar sitters during travel. The boarding facility works alongside the grooming side of the business, so pets staying overnight can also be groomed before their owners pick them up, cutting a trip to the groomer out of a family’s travel checklist entirely.

The retail side of the shop rounds out its identity as a full-service pet business, stocking pet foods and supplies from established brands including Natural Balance, Solid Gold, Taste of the Wild, Science Diet, NutriSource, and PureVita, along with supplies for cats, birds, and other small animals. That range lets the shop serve as a single stop for owners of multiple pet species, rather than requiring separate trips for dog food, bird supplies, and grooming appointments.

Since 1992, the business has emphasized delivering high-quality supplies alongside what it describes as the friendliest customer service, a combination that has kept generations of Daphne pet owners returning to the same shop even as bigger national pet store chains have moved into the surrounding market. The shop’s longevity speaks to a loyal customer base built one grooming appointment and one bag of dog food at a time. The gap between the shop’s 1979 founding and the service commitment it dates to 1992 reflects a business that spent its first years finding its footing before settling into the combined grooming, boarding, and retail model it operates today.

The pet food and supply brands carried on the shelves, including Natural Balance, Solid Gold, Taste of the Wild, Science Diet, NutriSource, and PureVita, span a range of life stages and dietary needs, giving owners of puppies, senior dogs, and pets with specific dietary requirements options without having to drive to a separate specialty pet nutrition store elsewhere in Baldwin County. Pairing that retail selection with grooming and boarding under the same roof lets a single visit to Bay Front Park Drive cover a pet’s food, its bath, and its overnight stay all at once.

A second location on South Church Street in Fairhope has expanded the Waggy Tail’s reach along the Eastern Shore, though the original Daphne shop on Bay Front Park Drive remains the anchor of the business. Hours run six days a week at the Daphne location, with slightly reduced hours on Sunday afternoons to accommodate staff and give the shop’s animals a lighter day. Customers can pay with Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, or cash.

For pet owners in Daphne who want a shop that has actually been part of the community for decades rather than a recent chain arrival, The Waggy Tail continues to offer the kind of personal, hands-on service that built its reputation in the first place.