OMG...Im Scared!
 

Okay,

Even though I know Ralph's groomer I have decided that I do not think I am going to get Ralph groomed again, i think i will take a class, or learn how to do it, because this scares me. They say at the end that this is NOT the first time this has happened! This is just scary and saddening to me! PetsMart Sued Over Alleged Grooming Death Of Puppy At Downey Store CBS Los Angeles

That is so sad! That poor baby and the poor parents! I would NEVER take Peanut to Petsmart Grooming or Petco for that matter. I have a wonderful groomer that he has been going to since he was a pup and I just love her! She also breeds Yorkies so she knows everything there is to know!

I also worked at Banfield and I cant stand them!! Worst Vet ever!! :thumbdown

If you know your groomers practices then you should not have to panic.

This is most likely a case of leaving the dog tethered to the table and the groomer walked away leaving the dog to walk off, jump off or however else to possibly strangle himself. Not a good practice even if you groom at home. Even turning your back an unruly dog may try to jump off the table. Not tethering a dog can lead to broken bones if they jump off the table.

This case is in litigation so the allegations may or may not be an accurate account.....but it DOES make sense to know your groomer. I groom my Yorkies myself but Yorkies are single coated and fairly easy to groom. Poodles are not.

Don't tar every groomer/grooming establishment because of one case in litigation. If your groomer has been good to you and your dog so far then the odds are that the groomer will continue to be a good groomer. You could ask that the dog not be left at the table.....

Things like this happen all the time. What I don't understand in this one. If the owners took their puppy to their Vet, how is that Petsmart was the one who said to cremate? That should have come from owner not Petsmart?

That is really scary and so sad.
I had a bad experience with a petsmart groomer as well.
I know in my heart that they hurt my airedale because he was perfectly healthy when i dropped him off & that evening when i picked him up he was favoring his rear leg. I should have taken him right back to the groomer but instead i took him to the vet the next morning.
He was diagnosed with a torn acl.
I them immediately called the groomer and the store manager.
They completely denied everything , never even considered it could have happened there, never apologized.
He had to have surgery later that cost 1400.00
i will never trust another groomer again no matter who they are.....

It just scares me. If you google petsmart, and petsmart grooming there are many, many more stories like this! I think that grooming laws need to be very strict, peoples dogs are getting drugged, lost and killed! It is not right at all.

I am so sorry that this happened to you and your fur-baby! Do you do all your grooming on your own?

wow. that article is terrifying!

That is horrible !! I hope they win their case against PetSmart.... Someone was clearly negligent in the death of this pup.

The worst part is this not the only case!

Very shady.... in some degree the vet who did the cremation need to be held accountable as well. Why in the world would they do a cremation without the owners concent. (signed concent) I had to sign off on the cremation of my Shadow when he died. Seems like that should be a common practice, everywhere.

That's so sad. It very important that you trust anyone you leave your dog with like a groomer. I have never been fond of Petsmart grooming but all the petsmarts are different. Our vet has a groomer now and that is where Callie gets groomed and all the people there love and know Callie.

This is very sad, I can't imagine how they feel..We love our groomer, she has groomed Yoshi for almost 7 years on a monthly basis and now Miss Priss goes with him.

How awful! That is so sad! We used to take KS to petco but not anymore. We take her to a local professional groomer now and just love her. She is wonderful!

We had the loveliest miniature cream poodle who was just over the miniature size limit and could not be shown or bred. So the the show-breeder, who knew my sister well and deigned to let me buy one of her dogs sold the lovely big boy to me. He was glorious looking and gorgeous and had mounds of coat which grew faster than grass in the spring. Out of defense of my bank balance, I soon came to the conclusion that I had to teach myself poodle grooming and buy all the equipment, etc., which was still cheaper than weekly or bimonthly groomer visits not to mention the worry that goes with it. My poor Sundance went through some raggy looks but before long, I got pretty good and could scissor a coat with some credibility and shave, etc., pretty darn cleanly with no burns. It took a total of many hours monthly but that dog looked so darn beautiful after, it was always worth it. So you can do it if you really get into it, study, get great tools and work at it.

Not defending Petsmart or Petco but there are groomers who work for both of these businesses that are wonderful caring people. I guess the problem is when quantity gets in the way of quality.

I am sure that they are not all bad, I just wish there was more regulations for dog groomers

I do all my grooming to Riley!! I started him Early and he lets me do absolutely Anything to him!!!! I will lay him on his back to groom his tummy and the hair in between his paws....and he usually falls asleep!! LOL!!

I think he looks good when I'm done, and if not I only have myself to blame!
I have heard waaaay too many stories from friends and people here in DC.

My sister has grooming business, so perhaps it is in the blood!!??
But it really does help that he is very very cooperative..... :thumbup: :)

I groomed Paris myself also. He didn't seem to care that I got the sides different! I NEVER go to Petco or Petsmart. For anything.

I agree, there was a bill several years ago that would have made it mandatory for groomers to be licenced but it never made it through congress. My daughter started out at Petsmart but left as soon as she was able because of the reasons listed in your 1st post. Some groomers stay,trying to make a difference. They (Petsmart & Petco) operate on the # of dogs groomed not the quality of the groom or if the groomer has a working relationship with the client. :thumbdown

I agree, I googled and basically anyone could be a groomer. If my hair dresser needs a course, and hours, and a test, I think dog groomers need the same thing. I feel like finding a good groomer is so hard now a days

I have heard of this happening frequently...they walk off and leave these babies in thosE ties, the dog jumps from the table, and then hangs until they notice or get back...I ALWAYS CAUTION MY BUYERS DO NOT USE PETSMART OR PETCO FOR GROOMING SERVICES UNLESS YOU STAY RIGHT THERE AND WATCH IT BEING DONE.....EACH TIME, NOT JUST ONCE OR TWICE....

I agree. Its just so sad these groomers let it happen!

Everyone needs to be very alarmed about this situation. PetSmart trains their own groomers. They hire someone off the street and do all the training themselves. In most states there are no requirements to become a groomer. Anyone can start being a groomer by getting hired by another groomer. Now the shop has to have a license to be a business but that does not put any restrictions on how they treat the animals. So when you go to a grooming shop you really need to know who you are dealing with and find out what their training and experience is. Don't ever assume that your groomer went to an accredited school because there are no real guidelines on even training a groomer.

My groomer was telling me recently that if a groomer harms your pet that there is not a lot of legal recourse for you because animals are considered "property" and not something of any value. I hope these people at least get something from their lawsuit but it is unlikely. I imagine that PetSmart has their lawyers ready for this.

"I imagine that PetSmart has their lawyers ready for this."

They do:thumbdown

Since the grooming industry is pretty much self regulating just do your homework. Use the same rules that you'd use before visiting a Dr. or any other service provider. Ask people who care for their furkids the same way you do for references. If enough pet parents do this at least SOME of the 3rd rate shops & salons will be run out of business.

I would NEVER take my dogs to petsmart for grooming, I had a HORRIBLE experience when Harrison was only 9 months old and took him to the petsmart on RT.4 in bergen county, NJ for grooming. it was the worse experience ever, since then I started looking for private grooming and for the longest time I sat and waited for my dog to be groomed.. so sad..
hugs,

A shop or salon that displays membership with an organization like this is always a good sign.

National Dog Groomers Association for Professional Pet Groomers


The requirements for membership are different for each of the groups but if they (shops & salons) care enough to belong to one of them that's a good sign.

Also, some of the best most compassionate groomers around never went to a "school" but apprenticed with an expirienced teacher.

I did a search on the internet to find out about grooming schools. It was an interesting experience. There is a wide variety. I used to know a groomer many years ago, she was an older lady at the time. She had attended a school that required that they learn how to groom all the AKC registered breeds besides knowing the basics of bathing, doing nails, being able to identify certain diseases that can effect dogs etc. She said they did hours of grooming on each breed and only under the supervision of one of the "teachers." That woman could make my very thick coated Shih Tzu look fantastic using only a pair of scissors. She knew what she was doing. I'm sure what ever school she went to is long since gone but from what I saw online some of those "schools" do very little in the way of actual hands on experience for those "groomers." I think working with a very good experienced groomer for several months would be better training than what some of those schools are offering.

There are so many people that are willing to abuse animals in order to make money. An industry that someone can make money without having to invest time and money in training and equipment is bound to attract some people who have little interest in the welfare of the animals. Of course accidents can happen anywhere but are more likely at a place where the people have little experience. I'm not trying to bash all groomers. I do have a very good groomer right now but I had some bad experiences before I went to her. I didn't go to her at first mainly because she was quite a bit more expensive than the others. Now I am more than happy to pay the extra to have peace of mind when walking out the door not just because I know she will do what I ask but also because I know Gracie is safe.

I just think it is wrong for places like PetSmart and other so call professional grooming salons to pretend that they know what they are doing when so many of them are hiring inexperienced people off the streets. Unsuspecting owners entrust their little dogs to these people not realizing that they could probably do a better job themselves if they tried. This is not the first dog to be injured at a grooming salon. You don't usually see people starting a law suit because it is so costly and the chances of wining are slim. If they win what will they get? The cost of the dog? Maybe. I doubt they would get their legal fees back though.

Or when acceptable profit loss in reality equates to dead animals etc.
It's all an insure write off anyways so who cares right?:rolleyes:

I find that hard to beleive people working there truly care I've been to several of them and the state of the stores in basic inspection shows me otherwise-if someone really cared would they work for those places.:confused:

I find it odd one grooming death and ppl jump ship-I already boycott both these places due to the thousands of deaths they have caused.

Mistreated birds, reptiles and rodents.

Birds smuggled in and reptiles too from massive operations where most die.
Chinchillas from chin farms-same as pup mills.:mad:
Fish yeah who cares about fish right?

So as long as they don't sell or abuse dogs we as pet owner should be okay with them and buy stuff for our dogs there right-I for one don't get that logic at all.:cool:

Omg!! How horrible!!!