Animal abuse is prevalent in the dog grooming industry. I went to a grooming school in Central SC and the woman who owns it is very abusive to animals. On April 1,2009 she abused a little sheltie named Ty so bad that it shook and whimpered the rest of the day from what she did to it. Because the dog was already shaking from nerves it slipped out of the grooming loop. This woman grabbed the dog off the grooming table and body slammed it to the floor hard. The dog was making what I can only describe as screaming. It was yelping and whimpering because she was twisting the skin and fur as hard as she could while she was shaking and slapping the dog. She then put a choke chain on it and drug it through the shop yelling "you will submit" at it. She then body slammed the dog again before throwing it into the bath tub. The poor thing would not lift his head to look up at all.
Her assistant also hits and slaps the dogs. The last afternoon I was there her assistant was hitting and punching a dog because it defecated on the grooming table. Even though people know she is like this they still take their animals to her to be groomed. Go figure. I even called the owner of the sheltie and told her what happened to her dog.

Sorry to hear about your golden retriever..
Sometimes there are accidents that may occur in an unexpected place.
try to contact local authorities regarding that incident.

[Lara's mom]

I know most groomers are very trustworthy. However, for my own peace of mind, I do not leave my girls in a cage waiting to be groomed and I don't take my eyes off of them for a moment until they are done and back in my care.

[valleyjays]

This is too sad to hear. This is an old thread but I wonder what the results were after? Did you hear anything?

[Groominator]

Really the only thing to say is that people are people. There are bad groomers like there are bad doctors, bad psychiatrists, bad plumbers, bad lawyers. When handling animals some will get injured. We have scissors next to a moving object. No one is perfect and no one is mistake free, dogs do and will get cut. And, people who are not groomers: Just because your dog was nicked does not mean the groomer did not know what they were doing. Dogs move, jump, pull, dance, hop on the table. Some groomers do abuse dogs, no lie, as will some teachers, doctors, daycare workers abuse the people they take care of.

[MrAndrew]

Great advice, my 2 cents: Stay away from corporate PetCOs and PetSmarts, they don't really care about your animal, heck, they offer live animals for sale!!

Originally Posted by Groominator

FOR EVERYONE READING THIS:

Please ask to speak directly to the person grooming your dog. Ask them how long they have been grooming and how/where they were trained. Make sure they are attentive and open to speak with you, and are professional. Appearances and age dont always tell a full story. I have seen some very normal looking people that are groomers that are less than friendly with the dogs. And I have seen groomers with mohawks and neck tattoos that would throw themselves in front of a bus to save your dog. Also, just because a groomer is an older/ middle aged person does not mean that they are a better groomer.

[must_Love_dogs24]

As a groomer i am outraged. I understand that terrible things happen and sometimes a old dog may pass. but as a responsible groomer I watch for signs of stress and call the owner if i think the dog is not well, or i will not groom the dog if i am worried about the dog. I have had a few dogs have seizures, a old dog that collapsed and another that caught its mouth in the bars from biting at them. But these things happen and the groomers i work with are trained for emergency's. I am outraged that they did not call you then to top it off, there was no answers. I would be taking them to court asap.
I am very sorry for you loss,

[Lara's mom]

Good grief! Does nobody ever bother to look at the date of the post? This one is from 2008!!!

[Todd]

Originally Posted by Lara's mom

Good grief! Does nobody ever bother to look at the date of the post? This one is from 2008!!!

Ah man this is too much

[caterhamClips]

so sorry for your loss

[Trab]

I brought my dog to the petco groomer ONCE and when I picked her up her paws were bleeding from someone cutting too close, her bottom was bleeding from hair being ripped out with a brush, and she was shaking uncontrollably. I was furious and made a huge scene, got a full refund, and 5 other appointments walked out with me. I will never go there again, and will never recommend them. I'm so sorry for your loss.

[missmurph]

I know this post is a little old, but it just irks me that people will sit here and say not to take your dog to a corporate place such as petco/smart to get your dog groomed. I was a little peeved also that someone said that those types of enviroments 'do not really care about your pets'! I myself work in a petco, and I could not be more passionate about my job or my love of the animals in my care. Working for over 12 years in the pet industry in all aspects (grooming, veterinary, kennels & boarding, dog training) I have come across a many variety of people and the different ways that the handle and treat animals. People need to try and not make assumptions about groomers in a corporate enviroment - everyone is an individual person with their own style of doing things, their own passions, their own skills, their own beliefs... I hope you get the point.

[Todd]

Originally Posted by missmurph

I know this post is a little old, but it just irks me that people will sit here and say not to take your dog to a corporate place such as petco/smart to get your dog groomed. I was a little peeved also that someone said that those types of enviroments 'do not really care about your pets'! I myself work in a petco, and I could not be more passionate about my job or my love of the animals in my care. Working for over 12 years in the pet industry in all aspects (grooming, veterinary, kennels & boarding, dog training) I have come across a many variety of people and the different ways that the handle and treat animals. People need to try and not make assumptions about groomers in a corporate enviroment - everyone is an individual person with their own style of doing things, their own passions, their own skills, their own beliefs... I hope you get the point.

I have to agree. It's the people not the place. One Petco may be just great while another has several abusive employees. Really just depends on who's hired. I do understand why some people wouldn't take the risk though because you can never tell for sure what type of people are employed. I'd recommend going in and talking with them and observing their facilities before making a decision. Some places also work in an area with a glass window so everyone in the store is able to watch. This eliminates a lot of potential inappropriate behavior on the part of the employees.

[Tob]

HAHA This old post had the gem of groomer not knowing a designer dog from a street dog, lol. Your designer dog is an expensive mutt and the only clip for them is either to do it the way the owner wants it or to use your imagination.

I could line up 10 lab/golden/doodles crosses and they would all have different shape, hair type, shedding/no shedding, color, ...oy vey!

Some are 30 inches at the shoulder and take your whole work day to do, but hell breaks loose if you dare to charge more than $60.

If these people want all of the attributes of a poodle, why don't they just buy a poodle?

Sorry will stop rant now. Still lmao

[Ozzy29]

Wow, that is horrible. I am truly sorry for your loss. And Please keep us informed! This should never have happened! Talk about negligence.

[linda]

Originally Posted by vetgroomer

Not true! There are many reasons groomers do not allow an owner to stay, and rarely does it have anything to do with their mishandling your pet.

One reason is liability insurance. Most insurance companies will not cover an owner that suffers a slip/fall injury, a bite, or any other injury. They clearly want the grooming area to be "Employees only". No groomer wants to lose their business and livelyhood if an owner is bitten or falls and breaks a leg, the insurance company won't cover it, and you sue.

There's also the fact that most dogs misbehave more if their owner is present. Owners tend to talk at the wrong moment, causing the dog to move suddenly, which can result in an injury. It's not only frustrating, but dangerous, if you're trying to trim the dog's face and he keeps turning his head to look at his owner. I can't speak for every groomer in the world, but I don't want to nick a dog, cut a dog, or poke an eye out.

I will allow an owner to stay with their dog, if they agree to abide by my rules, which I am very strict about. Stand or sit where I tell you to. Do not talk to or attempt to touch dogs that do not belong to you. Do not speak to or touch your dog unless I ask you to. If your dog is too distracted by your presence, and it is posing a risk to either me or the dog, you agree to leave the area if I ask you to. If you do not abide by these rules, you get the dog back "as is".

It's not because we're doing anything wrong that we don't want you to stay. It's simply in everyone's best interest most of the time.

right on the nose with this one!

[ouidog]

It is so sad...

[DawnieDogg]

Well well...what a shame that it happened this way. I've been a groomer at Petco since 2000. And I would never have even thought that a groomer or brusher/bather could be so un professional and negligent. Grooming elderly pets poses risk factors such as stress that can bring out latent & unknown underlying problems, such as heart attacks, kidney disease, respiratory problems etc. etc. Something as unfortunate as this could have happened at ANY grooming salon. The way it was handled & addressed is another issue. Why wasn't the GM present or called into the salon to discuss what happened w/ the grooming process and if there was any signs of stress or labored breathing present while preforming the grooming process.
At Petco...ANIMALS ALWAYS COME FIRST! We always do a prior 7 point check up on a clients pet to make sure everything is ok before paperwork is signed & the pet is brought in the back to settle down.
Also, our warm air dryers all have timers that automatically turn off in 15 min. We then do a walkthru to check on the pets and make sure fresh water is always available.
From my experience with elderly dogs, if they can't stand up securley on their own or they are too shakey and distressed, I feel much more comfortable referring the elderly dog to a vet for future grooming.
At Petco, the groomers hired go above & beyond what is expected of their job duties. My love and compassion for animals is what brought me this far, & I plan on cont. To make a positive difference in a dog's life.
The tragedy that happened w/ Gracie is unfortunate & terribly sad. I'm very sorry for you & your family's loss. I do agree with you that this was handled oddly and if u haven't done so already, contact the general manager of the store you took her to. Don't be intimidated to ask lots of questions. If it was my dog, I would also want some answers

[bpayne1217]

Originally Posted by missmurph

I know this post is a little old, but it just irks me that people will sit here and say not to take your dog to a corporate place such as petco/smart to get your dog groomed. I was a little peeved also that someone said that those types of enviroments 'do not really care about your pets'! I myself work in a petco, and I could not be more passionate about my job or my love of the animals in my care. Working for over 12 years in the pet industry in all aspects (grooming, veterinary, kennels & boarding, dog training) I have come across a many variety of people and the different ways that the handle and treat animals. People need to try and not make assumptions about groomers in a corporate enviroment - everyone is an individual person with their own style of doing things, their own passions, their own skills, their own beliefs... I hope you get the point.

I absolutly agree. I work at a Petco as a bather (hoping to soon be doing the grooming program) and my Petco is amazing. They make sure that pets come 1st no matter what. I've never seen a pet store take such good care of their animals. When we check a dog in we make sure the owners read and sign the proper papers saying that some dogs may have problems. We do the best we can to accomodate a dog. For example yesterday I had a dog terrified of crates so I had the dog tied out of the crate then entire time. We frequetly check on the dogs and make sure they have water.

I'm very sorry for your loss but please don't blame the company. Your dog may have had her own stress problems that developed (it happens), which is why we have people sign the emergency papers. However for someone to just leave a dog in a crate when it is obviously not well is horrible and they should be held responsible for not handling it. Just don't write off Petco.