Pet Scratch Repair in Madisonville

Some dogs leave pawprints on your heart. This one left gouges in the front door.

This beautiful red oak door in Beau Chene was the innocent victim of one very good boy’s enthusiastic greetings. For five years straight, every Amazon delivery, squirrel sighting, and guest arrival got the same treatment—front-paw fury, delivered with love. Unfortunately, love comes with claws.

By the time we got the call, the damage was clear: 30 inches of deep claw marks, faded stain, and enough wood filler experiments to qualify the homeowner for a DIY degree in frustration. The fix needed to go beyond a quick sand-and-stain job. This called for the Churchkey Treatment™.

Step 1: “Oh Wow, That’s Worse Up Close”

We started with a close-up inspection, and yep—those claw marks were deep enough to hide snacks in. This wasn’t just surface damage. We mapped out every scratch, every nick, every overzealous doggy autograph, and built a custom repair plan to bring the door back to life without losing its original character.

Step 2: Craftsmanship Meets Canine Chaos

We took the door off its hinges and got to work on-site in our mobile climate-controlled setup (because Louisiana humidity waits for no one). Using a specialty hardwood filler—no crumbly putty here—we hand-filled each gouge and reshaped the wood grain using micro tools and a steady hand. Think dental work, but for doors.

Once everything was cured and sculpted, we gave the entire door a smooth, hand-sanded finish worthy of its Beau Chêne zip code.

Step 3: Custom Color Mixing (Because "Almost" Doesn’t Cut It)

Matching stain on aged red oak is like trying to match one sock in a pile of 40. It takes patience, lighting, and a little Churchkey magic. We custom-mixed our stains to match the original patina—no blotchiness, no weird undertones, just smooth, even color that blended like it had always been there.

Three coats of marine-grade spar urethane locked everything in and gave the door a rich, satin sheen that’s tough enough to handle future doggy drive-bys (and UV rays, and Gulf Coast weather).

Step 4: Prevention Plan for Future Paws

We left the homeowner with a few bonus tips: how to maintain the new finish, which protective film works best for “frequent greeters,” and the kind of pet-friendly tricks that keep your front door from becoming a chew toy.

The Grand Reveal

The final result? A door that looks brand new—with zero evidence of the canine crime spree it once endured. No blotches, no filler lines, no mismatched stain. Just clean, classic red oak charm.

So if you’re in Beau Chêne (or anywhere on the Northshore) and your door’s been loved a little too hard, give Churchkey a shout. We’re not just restoring wood—we’re restoring peace between pets and doors, one pawprint at a time.