Grooming, Daycare & Boarding for Holbrook & Holtsville
Lillian Ruff Pet Spa
If you live in Holbrook or Holtsville, the practical thing to know is that the haircut, the workday and the week away all happen in one building: 835 Portion Rd in Ronkonkoma. Same door, same staff, same dog file. This page lays out what each of the three services costs, what Suffolk County requires before a boarding stay, and what to have ready the first time you come in.
For boarding, Suffolk County requires bordetella within the previous six months. Nearly every other required vaccine runs on a one-year clock, so bordetella is the one owners most often find lapsed the week they need it. Check that date before you book anything.
One building for Holbrook and Holtsville dogs
Holbrook and Holtsville are neighboring Suffolk County hamlets, and dogs from both end up in the same handful of places for the same handful of reasons. The advantage of one address doing grooming, daycare and boarding is not really convenience — it is continuity. The people who bathe your dog are the people who watch him during the day and the people who settle him overnight. Nobody starts from zero.
We will not quote you a drive time or a route, because there are three sensible ways to get anywhere out here and you already know yours better than we do. What we can tell you is where the building sits in the day: Ronkonkoma is a hamlet in Suffolk County, its LIRR station is one of the main line's big commuter and park-and-ride hubs, and Long Island MacArthur Airport (ISP) is also in Ronkonkoma, in the Town of Islip. If your workday starts on a platform or your vacation starts at ISP, a dog who is already booked in for the day or the week takes one variable out of the morning.
The area around Lake Ronkonkoma is split across more than one town, which is why addresses a few streets apart can sit in different jurisdictions. It matters for dog licensing and park permits, so check with your own town clerk rather than assuming ours applies to you.
Grooming: prices published by weight
Grooming prices are published, and they are set by your dog's weight rather than by breed name or by how the appointment goes on the day.
| Service | Published range | The difference |
|---|---|---|
| Bath & brush | $35 – $120 | No clippers. Wash, dry, brush through. |
| Full groom with haircut | $70 – $155 | Everything above, plus the haircut. |
Where your dog lands inside those ranges depends on weight, so the exact figure shows up when you pick your dog's size on the booking page. What the range does not price is time lost to a coat that has gone past brushing — matting changes what is physically possible, not what it costs, and the honest conversation about that happens before the clippers come out, not after.
Two things we do not do, so nobody drives over for them: we do not groom cats, and we do not do creative coloring, show grooming or hand-stripping. If your breed genuinely needs hand-stripping to hold its coat, you want a specialist and we will say so.
A short-coated dog whose nails you keep on top of may not need us more than a few times a year. That is a fine answer.
Daycare: a full day, or a couple of days a week
Daycare runs seven days a week, 7am to 7pm — which is wider than the grooming day, because it has to survive a long commute on both ends.
| Option | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Full day (4+ hours) | $35 | The standard day. |
| Half day (under 4 hours) | $30 | Small gap between the two. |
| 5-day pass | $162.50 | Saves $12.50 |
| 10-day pass | $300 | Saves $50 |
| 20-day pass | $550 | Saves $150 |
Passes have no expiration date and are non-refundable. Sales tax of 8.75% applies. Late pickup after 7pm is $5 per 15 minutes — said plainly here so it is never a surprise at the desk.
Daycare tends to suit
- Dogs who genuinely like other dogs
- Households with a long, unpredictable workday
- Adolescent dogs with more engine than outlet
- Owners who want one or two structured days, not five
Daycare suits less well
- Dogs who find other dogs stressful rather than fun
- Dogs who are happiest asleep on their own couch
- Anyone hoping it will fix a behavior problem on its own
- Dogs needing medication timed outside 7am–10pm
The first visit is a 30-minute meet and greet, which is as much for you as for us. If your dog is clearly not enjoying himself, we would rather tell you that than sell you a 20-day pass.
Boarding: what Suffolk County needs to see before the first stay
Boarding is $60 a night in a regular 4x4 private kennel, or $75 a night in a premium 4x6. Every stay includes full-day daycare at no extra charge, so the dog is not sitting in a kennel between meals. Feeding is 8am, 1pm and 6pm, and custom schedules are available for puppies, seniors or medical diets. If you would rather not pack food, we can provide it at $5 per day per dog. Check-in is 2:00pm to 7:00pm and check-out is 7:00am to 11:00am.
Now the paperwork, which is county law rather than house policy. Suffolk County Code § 302-13 says no dog may be accepted at a boarding kennel unless the owner provides a current health certificate from a licensed veterinarian stating the dog has been vaccinated against rabies, distemper, hepatitis, parainfluenza, parvovirus and coronavirus within the previous year — unless the vaccine is an approved three-year vaccination certified by the veterinarian — and against bordetella within the previous six months. Facilities must keep records for each dog for 12 months from the last day of use.
Bordetella is the requirement that catches people out, because it does not line up with the annual visit that covers everything else. If your dog's bordetella is more than six months old, sort it with your vet before you book the stay — and confirm current requirements with both your vet and the salon, since codes and vet protocols change.
Worth knowing too: bordetella vaccination does not fully prevent kennel cough. What people call kennel cough is properly canine infectious respiratory disease complex, with roughly eleven contributing pathogens according to the AVMA. The vaccine covers one of them well. That is not an argument against it — it is an argument for telling us if your dog has been coughing, and for calling your vet rather than us if he is.
Boarding eligibility, in the salon's own words: "Pet must be non-aggressive, comfortable in a kennel, able to socialize, and free from bite history." Medications that need timing outside 7am to 10pm are a limitation we cannot work around.
Booking, and what to bring the first time
Book online
Grooming, daycare and boarding all book at lillianruffpetspa.com. Pick your dog's weight for grooming and the price appears.
Check two dates
Rabies and bordetella. Bordetella is the six-month one. Get the certificate emailed from your vet if you do not have paper.
Do the meet and greet
Thirty minutes, before a first daycare or boarding stay. Bring the vaccination record with you.
Say the awkward thing up front
Hates having his feet held, snaps at the dryer, had a bad haircut last year. It changes how we handle him, and it never counts against you.
For a boarding stay, bring food if you are not buying ours, any medication in its original labeled container with written instructions, and the vaccination certificate. Leave the new toy at home; familiar smells settle a dog faster than novelty does.
Questions people actually ask
Do I need a health certificate for daycare, or only boarding?
The Suffolk County provision quoted above is written for boarding kennels. Vaccination expectations for daycare are set by the facility, so ask when you book the meet and greet and bring the record either way — it saves a second trip.
My dog's bordetella lapsed last month. Can he still board?
Not until it is current. The county's six-month window is not something a facility can waive. Speak to your vet about timing — many practices will want the vaccine given a short period before boarding rather than the same morning.
Are groomers in New York licensed or inspected?
No. There is no statewide New York licensing or inspection regime for grooming, daycare or boarding kennels, and pet groomers need no state license or registration. A bill has been proposed but is not law. That is exactly why it is fair to ask a salon how it handles a nervous dog, and to expect a real answer.
Can my dog be groomed during a boarding stay?
Ask at the time of booking rather than on the day. Grooming runs 9am to 5pm and needs its own slot, so it has to be scheduled alongside the stay, not added at drop-off.
Do you groom cats, or do hand-stripping?
Neither. No cats, and no creative coloring, show grooming or hand-stripping. If your dog's coat needs stripping, a breed specialist is the right call.
My dog needs a license — where does that come from?
Your own town clerk, not us. New York requires a dog to be licensed and rabies-vaccinated from four months of age under Agriculture & Markets Law § 109. Which town office you deal with depends on your address, which around here is not always the town you would guess.
Book the groom, the day, or the week.
Pick your dog's weight and the grooming price shows before you confirm. New to daycare or boarding? Start with the 30-minute meet and greet.
See pricing & book ›835 Portion Rd, Ronkonkoma, NY 11779 · Grooming 9–5 seven days · Daycare 7am–7pm
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