[News] Deadly Incidents Prompt Concerns About Pet Salons - YorkieTalk.com Forums

fasteddie · 08-02-2006, 10:23 AM

One morning in March, Nicole Stackpole dropped off her nine-year-old Pekingese, Toby, at Lick Your Chops grooming salon in Branford, Conn., for a bath and a haircut.

Later, she and her husband, Brian, received a call from the groomer, who told the couple to go to a veterinarian's office. When they arrived, they found Toby dead. According to local animal-protection authorities, Toby had been strangled by a restraint device after being left unattended for at least 15 minutes.

"It was like a punch in the gut," said Mr. Stackpole.

The incident was investigated at the Stackpoles' behest. The death was found to be an accident, according to the city's animal-protection officer, and the case is now closed. The salon's manager, Jeremy Antunes, declined to comment on the incident.

The Stackpoles' experience is one of a number of pet deaths that have occurred at groomers around the country in the past year, garnering local headlines and stirring concern among some pet owners. The macabre cases -- including reports of dogs overheating under dryers and the recent mauling of a poodle mix by larger dogs at a pet salon in West Virginia -- have caught the attention of lawmakers, spurring legislators in a number of states to consider laws that would more tightly regulate the pet grooming industry. While the number of pet deaths and injuries is small, there is some evidence that it is an increasing problem. According to the Council of Better Business Bureaus in Arlington, Va., there were 340 complaints against pet groomers in 2005, up 50% from 2000.

Americans are spending unprecedented amounts on services for their pets -- about $2.5 billion on grooming and boarding services in 2005, up 8.7% from 2004, according to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association, a trade group based in Greenwich, Conn. Some pet advocates say increasing demand for pet services has resulted in more inexperienced groomers entering the market. And with increased competition, some grooming facilities are under pressure to get the animals in and out faster -- which could result in accidents. The American Pet Products Manufacturers Association says that 69 million households owned pets in 2005, up 8.8% from 2000.

Grooming services have traditionally been loosely regulated. But bills proposed in New York and Pennsylvania within the past year would require groomers to be trained and licensed and would impose fines for violations. Grooming bills were also proposed in California and New Hampshire recently but ultimately weren't passed. In California, the bill couldn't be fine-tuned because the industry couldn't agree on a feasible approach; in New Hampshire, there were vote-scheduling problems and concerns that enforcement would be too burdensome.

There are laws on the books that apply to cruelty to animals, but they are generally invoked only in extreme cases. Overburdened prosecutors often refuse to take animal cases, believing them to be civil rather than criminal matters.

Toby died in March.

Many in the industry do support new rules regulating groomers, believing they would help steer consumers to well-trained professionals. "Our association will always be an advocate for licenses, if done properly," says Jeffrey Reynolds, executive director of the National Dog Groomers Association of America, based in Clark, Pa.

Serious accidents or deaths at grooming salons aren't common. "The majority of groomers are good, responsible people," says Maureen Hill-Hauch, vice president of the American Dog Owners Association, a national advocacy group. A spokesman for the national chain Petco Animal Supplies Inc., which groomed two million animals last year, said just 0.1% of jobs involved some sort of injury to the animal or the groomer. And in some cases, it is unclear if animals' deaths or injuries are the result of grooming treatments or a pre-existing condition.

Grooming concerns are particularly focused on cage dryers. These dryers attach to cages and can reach temperatures of around 135 degrees. Frequently, pets are washed and left in a cage to dry. But pet advocates say animals can be left for too long, and heat that is appropriate for larger animals may prove fatal to smaller dogs. After two dogs were suspected to have died under dryers in West Hollywood, Calif., the city last year tightened its rules for grooming facilities and now mandates that dryers be monitored at all times, according to a city spokesman. The New York state bill would ban their use outright.

Overheating in a drying cage may have been what happened to Phoebe, a Shih Tzu owned by Tina Del Toro and her 8-year-old daughter, Zoe. The dog was dropped off in June at the Brooklyn Zoo and Aquarium in Brooklyn, N.Y., for a haircut. The pet shop called later to say the dog had died, and returned it to the owners in a cardboard box.

"The box was hot" says Ms. Del Toro. "I was horrified. All I was thinking was, 'They cooked my dog.' "

The store's owner, Peter Eppolito, confirmed that the dog was dried in a cage but said other factors could have contributed to the death, including an underlying medical condition or stress. He also pointed out that he grooms more than 100 dogs a week the same way without a problem. Mr. Eppolito said he was investigated by state authorities after the incident but no violations were found.

Dryers aren't the only concern: Retiree Karen Wolfe says that when she went to pick up her 4-year-old poodle and cocker-spaniel mix in June from a groomer in Morgantown, W.Va., the owner told her the dog was dead and handed over the body in a crate. The dog had apparently been mauled by two bigger dogs after he was left unattended.

"We couldn't really look at him, to be honest," Ms. Wolfe says.

The salon's owner said that she was devastated by the dog's death and that the two bigger dogs had always played well with others.

In many cases, mishaps aren't fatal. A Shih Tzu belonging to Carol North, a technical writer from Savannah, Ga., had to have part of its tail amputated after it was broken at a groomer's recently. In June, a 10-month-old Schnoodle, Binky, was gouged during a haircut at a Petco in Long Island, N.Y., requiring nearly $600 of veterinary treatment, says owner Susan Melnik. "It looked like someone had taken a potato peeler to her skin, which was just hanging from her leg," Ms. Melnik says.

A Petco spokesman said that Binky jumped during the haircut, and that the store has agreed to reimburse Ms. Melnik for the veterinary costs.

Some pet owners take the groomer to court, but awards are generally limited. Pets are property, and people traditionally have received little more than the animal's market value, according to Joyce Tischler, founding director of the Animal Legal Defense Fund, an advocacy group based in Cotati, Calif.

The recent incidents are causing some owners to be more cautious when they are at the groomers. In order to avoid an accident like Toby's, the Stackpoles now take their surviving dog to a groomer that allows clients to observe procedures.

"We don't want this to happen again," Mrs. Stackpole says. "I have nightmares about it every night."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1154...N=wsjie/6month

ilovelouie · 08-05-2006, 03:24 AM

Wow, what horrible horrible stories......sooo sad. Im definately going to buy the tools and try to do it myself....I wash and dry my babies but I have never given them a trim or cut their nails or anything myself. I feel so bad for the people who have had their dogs injured or killed.

God Bless all of them.

Lola Calhoun · 08-05-2006, 05:42 AM

great post, what awful stories are out there! I am so glad my groomer allows me to watch my baby at all times when she is working with her...not that I dont trust her, but I feel much safer with me seeing her through the whole thing.

eevee · 08-05-2006, 02:45 PM

Hello, I was very upset to hear all the stories about pet groomers. I have never had my dogs professionally groomed. I have a 3 year old Shih Tzu named Zoe and a 7 month old Yorkie named Bubba. I try to groom them myself sometimes but I also have a cousin that grooms dogs as a side job. I would die if something like that happened to one of my babies. My Yorkie woke us up at 1:00 am a few weeks ago and was struggling to breath and we had to take him to the Emergency Vet which is about 30 minutes away. We were rushing him over and got pulled over by the police but he let us go and said try not to speed too fast. LOL! The vet took xrays of Bubba and said that he had a collapsed Trachea. I was very upset and thought we were going to lose him. But we took him to our vet the next day and she told us that she had an 8 year old poodle with the same problem. He doesn't seem to be bothered by his breathing but it scares me when he and Zoe get to playing and he will start breathing very heavy. The vet says to just calm him down and it works. If anyone has a Yorkie with this problem please tell me your stories good or bod so that I will know what to expect if anything bad ever happens. We love this little guy very much and don't want to lose him. Thanks eevee

shej62 · 08-15-2006, 07:23 AM

Today I signed on to get info on the after effects of the puppy shots!
Only to read sad tradgic news.

I am so sorry to hear about your pup. My heart goes out to you.
I have an 8 month old female Yorky, 2.9 lbs. She was .09 lbs when she was born,
and 1.5 for a good part of the summer. She's a real attention getter because she is so tiny. Tinytunes is her name.
Well, meeting so many people, and hearing their advise and comments....Grooming always came up.
Do you groom her? Do you have a groomer? I know a groomer?
Other then doctors and family, NO one handles my girl.

My advise! Learn grooming on your own. Your pet friend will love you for it!
Once again sorry for your loss...Now Go on out and get you another friend. Don't wait to bounce back!

Lorraine · 08-15-2006, 07:34 AM

I am always really upset when I hear of these things that happen in grooming shops and what some groomers will do.
The first year I got my training and apprenticed in a shop, I was sure I had chosen the wrong profession. Then I did my first mobile grooming job and loved it. So did the owner. It wasn't the grooming I didn't like, it was working in a shop that I didn't like.
Now, I work right in their home right under the owners nose. I have little or no trouble controlling the dog and they actually are much happier in their own home.

Marcellacml · 09-22-2006, 03:32 PM

Who would take there pet to a salon with a name like that anyway?!

ARCHIE · 09-29-2006, 05:32 AM

After reading this article I can't understand why these "accidents" are not considered "irresponsible" and "neglegence" instead. Because that is exactly what they are.
You are leaving your loved one be it pet or child in the care of a so-called
professional. If a child hung itself at a baby sitters it would not be considered an accident! When will the authorities take it seriously that a pet is a family member.

08-02-2006, 10:23 AM	#1
fasteddie *YT 6000 Club Member* Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 6,238	[News] Deadly Incidents Prompt Concerns About Pet Salons One morning in March, Nicole Stackpole dropped off her nine-year-old Pekingese, Toby, at Lick Your Chops grooming salon in Branford, Conn., for a bath and a haircut. Later, she and her husband, Brian, received a call from the groomer, who told the couple to go to a veterinarian's office. When they arrived, they found Toby dead. According to local animal-protection authorities, Toby had been strangled by a restraint device after being left unattended for at least 15 minutes. "It was like a punch in the gut," said Mr. Stackpole. The incident was investigated at the Stackpoles' behest. The death was found to be an accident, according to the city's animal-protection officer, and the case is now closed. The salon's manager, Jeremy Antunes, declined to comment on the incident. The Stackpoles' experience is one of a number of pet deaths that have occurred at groomers around the country in the past year, garnering local headlines and stirring concern among some pet owners. The macabre cases -- including reports of dogs overheating under dryers and the recent mauling of a poodle mix by larger dogs at a pet salon in West Virginia -- have caught the attention of lawmakers, spurring legislators in a number of states to consider laws that would more tightly regulate the pet grooming industry. While the number of pet deaths and injuries is small, there is some evidence that it is an increasing problem. According to the Council of Better Business Bureaus in Arlington, Va., there were 340 complaints against pet groomers in 2005, up 50% from 2000. Americans are spending unprecedented amounts on services for their pets -- about $2.5 billion on grooming and boarding services in 2005, up 8.7% from 2004, according to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association, a trade group based in Greenwich, Conn. Some pet advocates say increasing demand for pet services has resulted in more inexperienced groomers entering the market. And with increased competition, some grooming facilities are under pressure to get the animals in and out faster -- which could result in accidents. The American Pet Products Manufacturers Association says that 69 million households owned pets in 2005, up 8.8% from 2000. Grooming services have traditionally been loosely regulated. But bills proposed in New York and Pennsylvania within the past year would require groomers to be trained and licensed and would impose fines for violations. Grooming bills were also proposed in California and New Hampshire recently but ultimately weren't passed. In California, the bill couldn't be fine-tuned because the industry couldn't agree on a feasible approach; in New Hampshire, there were vote-scheduling problems and concerns that enforcement would be too burdensome. There are laws on the books that apply to cruelty to animals, but they are generally invoked only in extreme cases. Overburdened prosecutors often refuse to take animal cases, believing them to be civil rather than criminal matters. Toby died in March. Many in the industry do support new rules regulating groomers, believing they would help steer consumers to well-trained professionals. "Our association will always be an advocate for licenses, if done properly," says Jeffrey Reynolds, executive director of the National Dog Groomers Association of America, based in Clark, Pa. Serious accidents or deaths at grooming salons aren't common. "The majority of groomers are good, responsible people," says Maureen Hill-Hauch, vice president of the American Dog Owners Association, a national advocacy group. A spokesman for the national chain Petco Animal Supplies Inc., which groomed two million animals last year, said just 0.1% of jobs involved some sort of injury to the animal or the groomer. And in some cases, it is unclear if animals' deaths or injuries are the result of grooming treatments or a pre-existing condition. Grooming concerns are particularly focused on cage dryers. These dryers attach to cages and can reach temperatures of around 135 degrees. Frequently, pets are washed and left in a cage to dry. But pet advocates say animals can be left for too long, and heat that is appropriate for larger animals may prove fatal to smaller dogs. After two dogs were suspected to have died under dryers in West Hollywood, Calif., the city last year tightened its rules for grooming facilities and now mandates that dryers be monitored at all times, according to a city spokesman. The New York state bill would ban their use outright. Overheating in a drying cage may have been what happened to Phoebe, a Shih Tzu owned by Tina Del Toro and her 8-year-old daughter, Zoe. The dog was dropped off in June at the Brooklyn Zoo and Aquarium in Brooklyn, N.Y., for a haircut. The pet shop called later to say the dog had died, and returned it to the owners in a cardboard box. "The box was hot" says Ms. Del Toro. "I was horrified. All I was thinking was, 'They cooked my dog.' " The store's owner, Peter Eppolito, confirmed that the dog was dried in a cage but said other factors could have contributed to the death, including an underlying medical condition or stress. He also pointed out that he grooms more than 100 dogs a week the same way without a problem. Mr. Eppolito said he was investigated by state authorities after the incident but no violations were found. Dryers aren't the only concern: Retiree Karen Wolfe says that when she went to pick up her 4-year-old poodle and cocker-spaniel mix in June from a groomer in Morgantown, W.Va., the owner told her the dog was dead and handed over the body in a crate. The dog had apparently been mauled by two bigger dogs after he was left unattended. "We couldn't really look at him, to be honest," Ms. Wolfe says. The salon's owner said that she was devastated by the dog's death and that the two bigger dogs had always played well with others. In many cases, mishaps aren't fatal. A Shih Tzu belonging to Carol North, a technical writer from Savannah, Ga., had to have part of its tail amputated after it was broken at a groomer's recently. In June, a 10-month-old Schnoodle, Binky, was gouged during a haircut at a Petco in Long Island, N.Y., requiring nearly $600 of veterinary treatment, says owner Susan Melnik. "It looked like someone had taken a potato peeler to her skin, which was just hanging from her leg," Ms. Melnik says. A Petco spokesman said that Binky jumped during the haircut, and that the store has agreed to reimburse Ms. Melnik for the veterinary costs. Some pet owners take the groomer to court, but awards are generally limited. Pets are property, and people traditionally have received little more than the animal's market value, according to Joyce Tischler, founding director of the Animal Legal Defense Fund, an advocacy group based in Cotati, Calif. The recent incidents are causing some owners to be more cautious when they are at the groomers. In order to avoid an accident like Toby's, the Stackpoles now take their surviving dog to a groomer that allows clients to observe procedures. "We don't want this to happen again," Mrs. Stackpole says. "I have nightmares about it every night." http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1154...N=wsjie/6month __________________ YODA & WINKY R ::: RIP Winky ::: RIP Yoda!

08-05-2006, 03:24 AM	#2
ilovelouie YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: mass Posts: 1,762	Wow, what horrible horrible stories......sooo sad. Im definately going to buy the tools and try to do it myself....I wash and dry my babies but I have never given them a trim or cut their nails or anything myself. I feel so bad for the people who have had their dogs injured or killed. God Bless all of them. __________________ Our Photo Album is HERE http://www.dogster.com/?185528 http://www.dogster.com/?246319

08-05-2006, 02:45 PM	#4
eevee YorkieTalk Newbie! Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Rocky Mount Virginia Posts: 2	salon tragedys Hello, I was very upset to hear all the stories about pet groomers. I have never had my dogs professionally groomed. I have a 3 year old Shih Tzu named Zoe and a 7 month old Yorkie named Bubba. I try to groom them myself sometimes but I also have a cousin that grooms dogs as a side job. I would die if something like that happened to one of my babies. My Yorkie woke us up at 1:00 am a few weeks ago and was struggling to breath and we had to take him to the Emergency Vet which is about 30 minutes away. We were rushing him over and got pulled over by the police but he let us go and said try not to speed too fast. LOL! The vet took xrays of Bubba and said that he had a collapsed Trachea. I was very upset and thought we were going to lose him. But we took him to our vet the next day and she told us that she had an 8 year old poodle with the same problem. He doesn't seem to be bothered by his breathing but it scares me when he and Zoe get to playing and he will start breathing very heavy. The vet says to just calm him down and it works. If anyone has a Yorkie with this problem please tell me your stories good or bod so that I will know what to expect if anything bad ever happens. We love this little guy very much and don't want to lose him. Thanks eevee

08-15-2006, 07:23 AM	#5
shej62 YorkieTalk Newbie! Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: VA Posts: 7	I Morn Your Loss Today I signed on to get info on the after effects of the puppy shots! Only to read sad tradgic news. I am so sorry to hear about your pup. My heart goes out to you. I have an 8 month old female Yorky, 2.9 lbs. She was .09 lbs when she was born, and 1.5 for a good part of the summer. She's a real attention getter because she is so tiny. Tinytunes is her name. Well, meeting so many people, and hearing their advise and comments....Grooming always came up. Do you groom her? Do you have a groomer? I know a groomer? Other then doctors and family, NO one handles my girl. My advise! Learn grooming on your own. Your pet friend will love you for it! Once again sorry for your loss...Now Go on out and get you another friend. Don't wait to bounce back!

08-15-2006, 07:34 AM	#6
Lorraine Donating YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Abbotsford, BC Posts: 2,060	I am always really upset when I hear of these things that happen in grooming shops and what some groomers will do. The first year I got my training and apprenticed in a shop, I was sure I had chosen the wrong profession. Then I did my first mobile grooming job and loved it. So did the owner. It wasn't the grooming I didn't like, it was working in a shop that I didn't like. Now, I work right in their home right under the owners nose. I have little or no trouble controlling the dog and they actually are much happier in their own home. __________________ Lorraine www.loribenyorkies.com Canada

08-05-2006, 05:42 AM	#3
Lola Calhoun Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Posts: 153	great post, what awful stories are out there! I am so glad my groomer allows me to watch my baby at all times when she is working with her...not that I dont trust her, but I feel much safer with me seeing her through the whole thing.

09-22-2006, 03:32 PM	#7
Marcellacml Cosmo, Minnie, and Lillian Donating Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: New York Posts: 3,107	Who would take there pet to a salon with a name like that anyway?!

09-29-2006, 05:32 AM	#8
ARCHIE No Longer A Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: NEW YORK Posts: 16,218	After reading this article I can't understand why these "accidents" are not considered "irresponsible" and "neglegence" instead. Because that is exactly what they are. You are leaving your loved one be it pet or child in the care of a so-called professional. If a child hung itself at a baby sitters it would not be considered an accident! When will the authorities take it seriously that a pet is a family member.