Thanks for your concern, everyone. Jillie now officially has 1 1/2 ears.
I'm accepting nicknames.
Vet put her under for a dental today, and I had her remove the bad tip of the ear at the same time. She said it almost fell off.
To add insult to injury, she also had three teeth removed.
I guess Dad better start doing a better job brushing. Her 2 year checkup was nearly perfect, but at 4 the vet said she had three very loose teeth.
Good news is recovery time for the ear is just a couple days. She put some dissolving stitches in there, but she expects the wound to heal quickly.
I'm still at a loss as to cause and when it happened. After scouring hundreds of photos taken since the 3/22 grooming, I know for certain that it was healthy the day before the grooming. Then I inexplicably have no telling pictures until 3/29, and that shows some darkness at the top of the right ear and probable damage.
I called the groomer today, and they professed to being as surprised as I am. They said they neither noticed any damage to her ear beforehand or admitted to any nicks while grooming. I certainly can't prove otherwise.
I'm reluctantly going to switch groomers. Reluctant because their price was good and the home office is just three blocks from where I live. But this was the second thing with them that made me scratch my head and wonder. The first was a wart on Eddie's nose several months that I told them to avoid. When I picked him up, it was bleeding and they told me he must have nicked it while in his crate.
It's entirely possible they are 100 percent innocent, but I don't think I could ever be comfortable leaving them there again.
GRAPHIC WARNING -- Attached is a picture of what's left of Jillie's ear. It was still raw after the surgery.