[News] Yorkie strangled while in groomer's care

[lilbumbleybees]

Originally Posted by PetsPeeve

Dear Yorkie Lovers: I have read all of your posts with great sadness. I must speak. I am a professional groomer in MA. 45mins or so from where scrappy died. It upsets me that this has created such distress, (with good reason). No dog or cat should ever die in a groomers care, unless a pre-existing medical condition occurs..(heart, seizure etc). Even then, a responsible groomer may not put a delicate dog through a grooming unless it was absolutely necessary for the dog.
To that end, let me speak about professional groomers. There ARE professional groomers out there. We strive to give your babies the "Next best thing to Mom" care when they are with us. We have a very difficult job. Animals will be animals...they find inventive ways to wiggle out of things...cages, leashes, collars...More often than not, you have to have eyes in the back of your head.
In the case of scrappy, this groomer was wrong. Plain and simple. Ideally, when a dog is tethered in a tub, you would want to use a harness... if you must step away from the tub. But always keeping a visual of the pet. Further, if the pet must sit with a medicated bath on, you may put the pet, wet, with a towel into a kennel while you step away. A responsible groomer would never have left the dog tethered with a choke chain.
None of us where there, so we don't know the exact circumstance...I only ask that you not throw in the towel on all groomers. Many of us, go to seminars, to continue to learn..we seek out the latest tools and techniques. And those of us that are professional...support licensing. The person who posted that she waited while her dog was done...is right on. Poster named : Maneticgal also has it.
Look for these things in a professional groomer. Pride in appearance. Cleanliness of surroundings..(not including hair on the floor of course). Openness and willingness to show you all areas of their salons. How many years? What sort of training do they possess? Are they a "certified master groomer"? A test a groomer can take..on their own to show they have complete knowledge of grooming any breed. Do they belong to a trade organization? NEPGP.COM (new england pet grooming professionals) Groomexpo.com? Intergroom.com Do they make you feel comfortable?

It is very scary leaving your kid with someone...A professional, however will do everything in his/her power to alleviate those fears...for you and your dog.
No dog has ever passed away in my care..but they have been injured. In which case, your groomer will say...Listen mrs. smith...I nicked misty with the clipper today, I've cleaned the small wound that came from it. If you feel she needs vet care, please take him immediately and I will of course cover the cost...OR...Mrs, smith. I'm afraid I've nicked misty today..I felt she needed a stitch,,so I took her to Dr. Jones for you..he fully examined her and she'll be good as new in a few days...etc. HONESTY...
I believe that all any owner wants is honesty and caring. Accidents will happen, but a stand up person will step up to the plate and do what's right.
I am truly sorry..scrappy's mom... That would NEVER have happened on my watch or the watch of many, many other professionals.
A professional groomer is your first line of defense against parasites, early skin conditions...unchecked wounds..ear infections. Things you may not find without them. I hope you can find another groomer you can trust..If you can't..See me...Or many others I can refer you to in this state. You will then know a professional..
I am so profoundly sorry for your loss.
J.Falzone
A Pet's Peeve

You nailed it right on the head. thank you

[clueless]

I take my Maltese to the groomer to get done. I can't handle her hair! My Sr. Yorkie is too old to be left in a grooming shop. He's got a grade four heart murmur that is cranial, whatever that means, and I would not dare take him anywhere except the vet for anything! I am shocked that he lived through four weeks of the local pound!

[sarahcarp]

Thats such a tragedy, I don't know what I would do if that happened to me. Even if they pay for another dog for the woman, it cannot replace her dog. That is such negligence on the part of the assistant because you can't leave a dog in a tub unattended just like you wouldn't leave a child. Don't you think a dog would cry if it had hung itself? you would think she would have heard something and come back to check on it. I am always hesitant to take my dogs to the groomer and now I'll think again. I remember watching a yorkie getting groomed at petsmart where you can watch most of it going on and seeing a groomer scolding the yorkie for pooping, which I'm sure the poor dog couldn't hold any longer. I mostly groom my dogs myself, and I'm not that good at it but its better than ending up with something like this

[Inara]

Originally Posted by lilbumbleybees

You nailed it right on the head. thank you

Yes, my husband will not let me leave our babies, I used to have to wait there. Now I found this wonderful mobile groomer in CA. Loved her and she loved my babies. I moved to Lake Havasu Arizona and found another mobile groomer husband and wife team. They do my three yorkies every 3 weeks and get their total attention.

[Inara]

Originally Posted by lilbumbleybees

You nailed it right on the head. thank you

Yes, my husband will not let me leave our babies, I used to have to wait there. Now I found this wonderful mobile groomer in CA. Loved her and she loved my babies. I moved to Lake Havasu Arizona and found another mobile groomer husband and wife team. They do my three yorkies every 3 weeks and get their total attention.

I only put a harness on my babies, no collars.

[RockinRhonda]

I'm so glad one of the fellow groomer stepped up and said this,I 'm also a groomer, you girls act like we are all out there to hurt your babies.We would not be in the buisness if we did not love dogs. We sure are not in there for the money. There are some this is just a job.But most are not.
It makes me so angry when people talk about groomers,I;ve been grooming for 15 yrs and I love my job and my clients,I'm so sorry this had happen to scrappy.I know it is like a child. to his mom.
But have some respect for groomer. They work ahard at making your baby beautiful, they do the job you could not .Because he wont hold still.
I;m just so sick of you grils bashing the groomers.
As I said soooo sorry for Scrappy and his mom.

[no3yshhc0la]

Originally Posted by Magneticgal

I think it is absolutely tragic!! What also has me concerned is how this sheds a bad light on ALL groomers. I have read countless posts here about people doing their own grooming-which is great. BUT I do need to to say that there ARE good groomers out there that genuinely care- not all of them are negligent and uncaring!! Please don't label ALL groomers in this catagory!! My groomer I take Lexie to is one of the BEST!! I think the world of her and Lexie does too.

This's such a heartbreaking story and definitely isn't the first story I've heard about a dog dying at a grooming salon. But I also much agree with the fact that ALL groomers arn't bad. The very first time I took Sasha to get groomed, I was scared to death because of all the stories that I had heard about grooming salons. I did my research though and found a great place. What ended up being even better, was the day I dropped her off, I found out that a girl I went to school with my entire life, her mom ended up working there and I didn't even know it! She has been grooming her ever since and I know she's in good hands when I leave her. Plus, she's extremely reasonable with the price she charges me. I definitely trust her 100% when I leave Sasha. My heart goes out greatly to this owner who lost her poor pup as to anyone else who has lost their dog resulting from a grooming error, but you also have to remember that not all groomers are bad people. I'm not a groomer at all and yes some people who are groomers probably shouldn't be, but if you search around, it is possible to find one trusting enough to leave your dog with. But everyone has their own opinions about groomers and that can't change. Some people just prefer to groom their own dogs for safety and there's nothing wrong with that. Just don't go around critizing ALL of them when not ALL of them are bad.

God bless this owner for her great loss

[Lindsay1973]

We groom all our dogs ourselves too,we also had something like that happen here a animal was suffocated by Being left in a laundry box.

[Ellie May]

This is one of the reasons that Ellie gets groomed at home.
Even the best groomers probably look away on occasion and that isn't going to work for me when my dog has a noose around her neck.

About letting the dog sit in a medicated shampoo, they shouldn't be left AT ALL. Their head should be held. What if they lick it off?

[mnewco]

I know I am late to this thread but I could have fainted when I read this. If it were my business, I would have fired the assistant. There are a lot of people that need a job even back when this happened. I think she is not telling the truth when she said the dogs death had nothing to do with her decision to possibly move to Florida. I bet she will change her business name once she moves.

I feel bad for the owner but not for the assistant. Common sense tells you that a dog could leap out of somewhere he doesn't want to be.

[nana911]

Every profession has its bad apples. My daughter's hair, when she was little, always looked like crap. No way I'm gonna try to do my furbabies. That and I don't do anal glands...just ain't going there...LOL

I've been very lucky to find a wonderful groomer. She has been doing my boys ever since I got them and at a very reasonable rate. One time I needed a quickie and she wasn't available, went elsewhere and Baxter got a bad cut, and he got nicked and she didn't bother to tell me. Went right back to my usual. My girls have gone for nail clippings and a couple of butt trims. When they get enough hair they'll become regulars. She doesn't keep them all day, she does 80lb Bear and 10lb Baxter in under 2hrs and for 55 bucks. The bathing area is visible from the front desk. I know some shops keep the shampoo area hidden and lets no one in there, which would be a big red flag. I think maybe part of the key is to look for the equivalent of mom and pop salons. The stand alone shops. They are probably working more for the love of the animals than the bonus incentives the chain offers. oh yeah..mine also doesn't answer the phone while working..lol

There are good groomers out there and they are especially for consumers like me!

I cannot imagine what this woman is going through to come back to pickup her baby and get such devastating news. The callousness of the owner just doesn't sound right for grooming professional. It does sound like someone who is working for a major chain of impersonal grooming salons, or used to. Same mind set.

[EXOTICYORKIES]

I am personally just upset how people think that putting a price tag on a tragedy makes everything ok ,well money wont bring back a pet that you have invested many years of love ,happiness and joy I am SADDENED to know that there are negligent groomers who just dont realize how important our pets really are to us its just not that easy to say ....oh I will pay for the damages or a replacement , I dont use a groomers myself but I must say if I did I would check it out as if I was leaving my child at a daycare i would therally evaluate the place and the groomers would know to make sure that nothing happened to any of my babies also it is some good groomers out here but just as we feel our babies are everything we must take the extra step and research who we will let care for our babies after all they are like our children

[RachelandSadie]

i think when the time comes for full grooming i'll just make a Saturday trip up to see my cousin and let her do Sadie. i don't trust anyone but her at this point! she doesn't use the noose, she's just good at her job. and i wouldn't have to kennel just stay right there with her the whole time and watch.

[celstu1]

Oh my gosh how freakin sad I would be beyond consolable if that happened to one of my boys. I love my groomers, they are great. But wow... things like this make me afraid!

[Lou]

I'm glad to see this come around again.
It gives me the chance to tell you all how wonderful my groomer is.
Our vet uses her so we tried her out. What a wonderful person. A real animal lover. I remember one time she was almost in tears telling me that she had cut one of Ivan's nails to short and it had been bleeding. Then she didn't want to charge me for his grooming. And our shy little puppy mill shih Tzu who hates to be around people other than us absolutely loves her! You should see her tail wag when she sees the shop through the car window.
To our groomer members:
There are bad groomers out there just as there are bad yorkie owners and please, you must not take the criticism personally. Just do your best to be the great groomer your clients talk about.