--- title: "The Groove Hound — Philadelphia, PA" url: "https://dogsaway.co/philadelphia-pa/the-groove-hound/" updated: "2026-10-20" data_pulled: "2026-10-20" census_at: "2026-10-20" source: "Dogs Away — public Google Business profile (identity, rating) + Dogs Away disclosure census of the facility's own website" license: "All rights reserved. Read and cite freely. No bulk copying. (https://dogsaway.co/terms/)" attribution: "Source: Dogs Away (dogsaway.co)" --- # The Groove Hound Dog day care center in Philadelphia, PA — part of the Dogs Away index of dog boarding and daycare in Philadelphia, PA (https://dogsaway.co/philadelphia-pa/). **★4.7 from 30 Google reviews, Dogs Away score 9.4/10.** The Dogs Away score is a Bayesian-adjusted Google rating on a 0–10 scale (prior weight 25 reviews at the 4.669 network mean). ## Facts - **Services:** daycare - **Address:** 2236 Frankford Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19125 - **Phone:** (267) 909-9162 - **Website:** http://www.thegroovehound.com/ - **Google Maps profile (verify):** https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=The%20Groove%20Hound&query_place_id=ChIJPdInzj3IxokRLjScOA4yaBQ ## Hours | Day | Hours | | --- | --- | | Monday | 7:30 AM–6:30 PM | | Tuesday | 7:30 AM–6:30 PM | | Wednesday | 7:30 AM–6:30 PM | | Thursday | 7:30 AM–6:30 PM | | Friday | 7:30 AM–6 PM | | Saturday | Closed | | Sunday | Closed | ## Booking terms, safety and care - **Late pick-up:** Daycare rule: dogs not picked up by 6:30 PM are charged $1 per minute — facility's words: "All dogs not picked up by 6:30pm will be charged a late fee of $1/minute" (https://www.thegroovehound.com/playground-policies/) - **Vet costs during a stay:** Owners authorize immediate vet treatment and agree to pay all associated fees — facility's words: "Owners must give The Groove Hound permission to obtain immediate veterinary treatment for their pet, should it become necessary for any reason and agree to pay all fees associated." (https://www.thegroovehound.com/playground-policies/) - **Minimum age (months):** Daycare: pets must be at least 16 weeks old — facility's words: "Your pet must be at least 16 weeks of age and up to date with Rabies, DHLPP, Bordetella vaccinations." (https://www.thegroovehound.com/the-playground/) ## For travelers - **PHL** (Philadelphia International): 9.5 miles, straight line - **Weekday hours span:** 7:30 AM to 6:30 PM - **Open Sunday:** no Hours from the public business profile; drop-off and pick-up windows can be narrower. ## Published rates - **Daycare:** $38 per day > “PRICING cash. check or venmo accepted Single Dog Rates Daily $38 Half Day: $25” Source: https://www.thegroovehound.com/the-playground/ — checked September 9, 2026. ## Disclosure record Publishes 6 of 27 checked policies on its own website (census October 20, 2026). "Not published" is a fact about the website on that date, not a claim about the facility's practice. ### Admission requirements - **Vaccinations required:** Required: rabies, DHPP, Bordetella · Not mentioned: canine influenza, leptospirosis > “Your pet must be at least 16 weeks of age and up to date with Rabies, DHLPP, Bordetella vaccinations. We require re-ups on Bordetella every 6 months, even though the vaccination can be given once yearly.” — https://www.thegroovehound.com/the-playground/ - **Bordetella lead time:** Not published on their website as of October 20, 2026 - **Fecal / parasite test:** Not published on their website as of October 20, 2026 - **Spay / neuter:** Required from 6 months > “All dogs 6 months of age and oder must be spayed or neutered.” — https://www.thegroovehound.com/the-playground/ - **Temperament evaluation:** Required before a first stay > “Before your pup's first day at The Playground they'll have to pass a quick behavior evaluation during a meet & greet.” — https://www.thegroovehound.com/playground-policies/ - **Vaccination records:** Proof checked, not taken on word > “All dogs attending daycare at our facility must show valid proof of current DHPP, Bordetella and Rabies vaccinations. If you are unable to provide that proof we reserve to right to refuse service and care of your pet.” — https://www.thegroovehound.com/playground-policies/ ### Operations - **Staff on site overnight:** Not published on their website as of October 20, 2026 - **Staff-to-dog ratio:** Not published on their website as of October 20, 2026 - **Maximum playgroup size:** Not published on their website as of October 20, 2026 - **Staff certification:** Not published on their website as of October 20, 2026 - **Play model:** Not published on their website as of October 20, 2026 - **Groups separated by:** Not published on their website as of October 20, 2026 - **Time out of their room:** Not published on their website as of October 20, 2026 - **Solo care for dogs who skip group play:** Not published on their website as of October 20, 2026 - **Housing:** Crate free > “Our playground is indoor and outdoor crate-free space, with huge outdoor space for running and playing.” — https://www.thegroovehound.com/ - **Outdoor access:** Indoor outdoor > “Our playground is indoor and outdoor crate-free space, with huge outdoor space for running and playing.” — https://www.thegroovehound.com/ - **Capacity:** Not published on their website as of October 20, 2026 - **Climate control:** Not published on their website as of October 20, 2026 - **Live cameras for owners:** Not published on their website as of October 20, 2026 - **Photo / report-card updates:** Not published on their website as of October 20, 2026 - **Tours:** Not published on their website as of October 20, 2026 - **Injury / fight policy:** Not published on their website as of October 20, 2026 - **Veterinary access:** Not published on their website as of October 20, 2026 - **Administers medication:** Not published on their website as of October 20, 2026 - **Feeding:** Not published on their website as of October 20, 2026 - **Availability:** Not published on their website as of October 20, 2026 - **Online booking:** Not published on their website as of October 20, 2026 ## Licensing Pennsylvania licenses and inspects boarding kennels statewide, and its definition of 'boarding kennel' is unusually broad: it expressly reaches daycare, not just overnight boarding. The Dog Law (Act of Dec. 7, 1982, P.L. 784, No. 225, as amended; 3 P.S. §§ 459-101 et seq. -- not yet recodified into Pa.C.S., despite the 'Title 3 Pa.C.S. Chapter 25' framing sometimes used informally) is administered by the PA Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement. Section 102 defines a 'boarding kennel' as 'any establishment available to the general public where a dog or dogs are housed for compensation by the day, week or a specified or unspecified time,' and separately extends the term to 'any establishment available to the general public that, for consideration, takes control of a dog from the owner for a portion of a day for the purposes of exercise, day care or entertainment of the dog' -- explicitly excluding only 'an establishment engaged only in dog grooming or dog training.' A kennel license is required to operate (Section 207(a.1)(1)); operating without one is a summary/misdemeanor offense and can draw a civil penalty of $1,000-$5,000 per day (Sections 207(a.1)(7), 207(a.2), 903). The Bureau inspects every licensed kennel at least twice per calendar year (Section 218(a)) and is separately authorized to inspect unlicensed establishments operating as a kennel. Boarding kennel license fees are capacity-based: Class I (1-10 dogs at a time) $125/year, Class II (11-25 dogs) $200/year, Class III (26+ dogs) $325/year (Section 206(a)(5)); licenses expire December 31 and must be renewed by January 1. Crucially, the Bureau publishes a live, public Kennel Inspections Search (pda.pa.gov) that can be filtered by county, city, kennel type and name, returning license number, current status (Open / Closed - Voluntarily / Pending Inspection), license class and a per-record inspection history with downloadable PDF reports going back roughly eight years. This is a real, joinable register -- not just a lookup that returns one record at a time and not a bulk CSV/API export, but a complete, filterable result set we retrieved and matched against every Philadelphia facility in this index by name and street address. 16 of the 25 curated Philadelphia facilities matched an Open PA kennel license; 1 (Dog School) matched five license records, every one 'Closed - Voluntarily', which corroborates that operator's own site statement that it is 'permanently closed as of 5/23/26'; 8 facilities produced no match under the names searched. A separate note on Philadelphia specifically: the Dog Law's only historical carve-out for cities of the first class (Philadelphia is Pennsylvania's sole city of that class) is Section 1201(a), and it is narrowly scoped to individual dog licensing and dog-caused-damage payments -- the reason ACCT Philly, not the state, issues per-dog licenses in the city. A parallel carve-out for kennels in first- and second-class cities, former Section 208, was deleted by amendment in 1996. Nothing in the current Dog Law exempts Philadelphia kennels from state licensing or inspection, and the search results above -- current, Open Philadelphia licenses with 2026 inspection dates -- confirm the state regime is actively applied inside the city. Market licensing detail: https://dogsaway.co/philadelphia-pa/ ## How to cite The Groove Hound, Philadelphia, PA. Dogs Away, https://dogsaway.co/philadelphia-pa/the-groove-hound/ (census October 20, 2026; listing data October 20, 2026). Source: Dogs Away (dogsaway.co). Read or cite this one record with a link. Do not bulk copy, scrape or rebuild the directory. Terms: https://dogsaway.co/terms/ Structured data: https://dogsaway.co/api/v1/facilities/philadelphia-pa/the-groove-hound.json