Meet Karoot: How One Very Large Dog Helped Inspire a New Pet-Grooming Marketplace

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Karoot was selected for a complimentary sponsored showcase by AD18 Local. No payment was received for this feature.

If you have ever tried to persuade a very large dog to get into a car when it has already decided otherwise, you can probably appreciate how the idea for Karoot began.

Karoot founder Tanveer was talking with a friend who was struggling with a surprisingly ordinary problem: getting her Bernese Mountain Dog to the groomer.

The groomer was far away. The drive was long. And transporting a dog that size turned a routine grooming appointment into something closer to a small logistical operation.

For anyone whose dog suddenly develops the strength of a horse the moment it senses a bath may be involved, the problem is easy to understand.

The conversation stuck with Tanveer.

Why, she wondered, was finding the right groomer still such a fragmented process?

That question eventually became Karoot.

A Marketplace Built Around Pet Grooming

Launching September 26, 2026, Karoot is a Canadian marketplace created specifically to help pet owners find and book groomers.

Toronto will be the company’s first major launch market, while the platform itself is designed for use across Canada.

Karoot will also be available on both iOS and Android from launch.

The idea is simple: bring more of the grooming process into one place.

Instead of moving between Google results, Instagram accounts, phone calls, text messages and individual booking systems, pet owners can browse groomer profiles and see practical information before requesting an appointment.

That can include services, pricing, availability, service location, the types of pets a groomer works with and reviews from previous customers.

Customers can then request an appointment, communicate with the groomer and manage the booking through Karoot.

For groomers, the platform is built around a different principle: they decide how they want to work.

Groomers Set the Terms

Karoot does not prescribe one standard menu of services or tell groomers what they should charge.

Individual groomers create their own profiles, choose the services they offer, set their own prices, manage their availability and decide where they are willing to provide appointments.

They also retain control over the booking itself.

A customer can request an available appointment, but the groomer decides whether to accept or reject it.

Joining Karoot is free for groomers.

That flexibility is particularly relevant in an industry where two grooming businesses can operate very differently.

One groomer may work from a dedicated studio. Another may provide services in clients’ homes. Someone else may specialize in certain breeds, coat types, senior animals or pets that need more patience during an appointment.

Karoot is intended to make those differences visible instead of presenting every groomer as another name on a calendar.

Sometimes “Where?” Matters as Much as “How Much?”

The transportation problem that helped inspire Karoot also influenced how the marketplace handles location.

Groomers can indicate where they provide services, including:

• their own grooming studio
• a public pet-wash location
• the client’s home

For dog owners in particular, that can matter.

Some dogs hear “car ride” and are waiting at the door before you find the keys.

Others hear it and immediately begin reviewing every questionable decision you have made as their owner.

For large dogs, senior pets, anxious animals or pets that simply do not travel well, being able to consider where a grooming appointment happens can be an important part of choosing a provider.

It also gives independent groomers more freedom to build a business around the way they actually want to work.

Not Just Dogs

Dogs may be the easiest way to explain the problem Karoot is trying to solve, but the platform is not limited to them.

Pet owners can create profiles for their animals, while groomers decide which types of pets they are able and willing to service.

That can include dogs, cats, rabbits and other animals when a participating groomer offers the appropriate service.

The same applies to the services themselves.

Karoot does not impose a fixed list of grooming packages. Groomers decide what appears on their profile.

One provider might focus on bathing, brushing, nail trimming and haircuts. Another might offer de-shedding, specialty coat care or services for animals that are less commonly accommodated.

The marketplace is designed around what each groomer actually offers.

Keeping the Appointment in One Place

Once a customer requests a booking, Karoot is intended to keep more of the appointment process together.

Groomers can accept or decline a request, and once a booking moves forward, customers and groomers can communicate through the platform’s built-in messaging system.

That means appointment details do not have to live across a combination of DMs, emails, missed calls and a text thread from six weeks ago containing the message, “Was it Tuesday at 2 or Thursday at 3?”

Payment is also handled through Karoot.

For pet owners, the appeal is convenience.

For groomers, it means having discovery, booking and customer communication connected to the same profile rather than assembling those tools independently.

Reviews From People Who Actually Booked

Choosing someone to care for a pet involves more than finding an open appointment.

Karoot says groomer identities are verified using government-issued identification.

Its review system is also tied to completed bookings: only customers who have completed a service through Karoot can leave a review.

That gives future customers feedback connected to an actual appointment.

Those reviews can then be considered alongside information such as services, pricing, availability and location when someone is deciding which groomer may be the right fit.

Identity verification and reviews cannot guarantee that every experience will be perfect — pets have opinions too — but they can give owners more information before making a decision.

The Business Started With a Dog. The Name Came From a Cat.

There is another animal behind Karoot’s story.

The platform is named after Tanveer’s skittish orange Siberian cat, Karoot.

So yes: a business inspired partly by the difficulty of getting a giant Bernese Mountain Dog to the groomer ended up being named after a nervous orange cat.

It works surprisingly well.

The story also reflects something Karoot is built around: pets are different.

Some will happily go anywhere with anyone.

Others need 20 minutes to recover emotionally because you moved their food bowl three inches to the left.

The right grooming arrangement for one animal may be completely wrong for another.

Karoot is trying to make some of those differences easier to account for before an appointment is ever booked.

Starting in Toronto, Built for Canada

Karoot officially launches September 26, 2026.

Toronto will be the company’s initial focus as it begins bringing groomers and pet owners onto the marketplace.

From launch, Karoot will be available on both iOS and Android.

The platform itself is not restricted to Toronto, however. Groomers and pet owners elsewhere in Canada can also join and use Karoot where participating providers are available.

Karoot is also part of the AD18 Toronto Business Directory, where visitors can view its business profile and find its presence across AD18.

That gives the marketplace room to grow according to where groomers and pet owners actually begin using it.

Built to Grow With Its Community

Karoot’s September launch is only the starting point.

As more groomers create profiles, pet owners will be able to discover a wider range of services, locations and specialties through the marketplace.

That could be particularly useful in a city like Toronto, where the right grooming option can depend on much more than who happens to be closest.

A pet owner may be looking for someone who works with a particular breed, offers appointments from home, provides services for an anxious pet or simply has availability that fits their schedule.

For groomers, Karoot creates another way to make those differences visible.

They can decide what they offer, what they charge, when they work and where they provide appointments — then let pet owners find them based on those details.

And because Karoot is available across Canada, the same model can grow beyond Toronto wherever groomers and pet owners begin using it.

The idea that started with one very large dog and one inconvenient grooming trip is ultimately pretty simple:

Make it easier for pet owners to find the right groomer — without turning grooming day into a road trip.

What Happens Next

Karoot is currently accepting waitlist sign-ups from both groomers and pet owners ahead of its September 26 launch on iOS and Android.

Pet owners interested in finding groomers — and grooming professionals interested in creating a profile before launch — can visit Karoot.ca and join the waitlist.

Karoot can also be found across AD18 through its Toronto Business Directory profile and its current AD18 listing.

For pet owners exploring other local options, browse more Toronto pet businesses in the AD18 Directory.

Editor’s note: Karoot’s product features and launch details were confirmed with the company for this feature and may evolve as the platform develops.