Kent County, DE Animal Ordinances: Pet Groomer Rules (2026)

Kent County's zoning definitions at § 205-54 describe a 'DOG GROOMING/TRAINING/DAY CARE ESTABLISHMENT' as a location where domestic pets are groomed, washed, cut or otherwise physically maintained, and specifically state that no overnight boarding is contemplated with this use. The § 205-53 General Use Table lists 'Dog grooming: dog day care/training' as requiring conditional use approval (C) in both the AC (Agricultural Conservation) and AR (Agricultural Residential) districts, meaning the operator needs Planning Services and Levy Court sign-off before opening, but the same use is permitted outright (P) in the BN (Neighborhood Business) and BG (General Business) districts.

§ 205-67I(1) carries the definition's no-boarding rule into the operative standards, stating flatly that there shall be no overnight boarding of animals at a dog grooming, training or day care establishment, which is what separates it from a commercial kennel under § 205-54: the kennel definition notes that grooming services, pet grooming, dog day care and dog training are excluded from the commercial kennel category but can be run as an accessory use to an approved kennel. A groomer operating without the required conditional use approval in AC or AR, or one that keeps animals overnight in violation of § 205-67I, is subject to the same countywide zoning enforcement under § 205-426.