Puffy after his lion cut (Astrid Stawiarz )
Spring is here at long last (at least according to the calendar), and the city’s pets are ditching their shaggy winter coats for fresh “lamb” and “lion” cuts that are punnily perfect for March.
Alison Klein says her 7-year-old Bischon Frisé Louis “naturally resembles a lamb,” but she takes it a step further. Klein, 36 and a lawyer, lives on the Upper West Side and regularly takes Louis to Towne House Groomers in Chelsea for a haircut that plays up his baby sheep likeness. “I love the look,” she says of Louis’ lamb cut, which the groomers charge $75-$120 for, depending on the size of the dog. It also helps keep the white pup fluffy and clean. “He definitely looks like a lamb or a cotton ball at the end,” Klein says.
Louis’ stylist, Elly Wong, says that variations on the lamb style — typically a close shave on the body with a slightly fuller face and boots — are quite popular with owners of curly haired dogs. “It’s a cute look for all sizes of dogs and works for pure and mixed breeds like poodles, Bischons, Pomeranians, Portuguese water dogs and Goldendoodles,” she explains, adding that most clients opt for an even tighter shear in the summer.
Though a dog with a lion cut isn’t unheard of, this roaring chop is most popular among style-conscious kitties.
Art Massei, 53 and a Chelsea lawyer, has four Himalayan cats, including Puffy, pictured above. All of them regularly go to Town House Groomers for the dramatic hairstyle, at a cost of $105 each. “I just love the lion cut on the cats,” Massei says of the look, which is characterized by a cropped body and fluffy face and boots. And, he says, the shear helps his cats to be more active. “They can run faster and more often.”
Wong also notes the practicality. “Long-haired cats can get matted,” she says. “The hair can be very overwhelming.”
And at Green Pets in Clinton Hill, owner Twain Belgrave says his clients opt for the style “to help with shedding.”
Gary Angel, owner of My Two Dogs in Williamsburg, notes that the lion cut is also really cute on Pomeranian pups, but he has an even wilder option called the “The Hyena” (both cuts are $60 for a toy dog). “It’s basically a body mohawk,” he enthuses.