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ATTENTION:Grooming (especially private groomers)

april07
October 21st, 2005, 05:04 PM
I'm posting this with great sadness. It's a topic that is not easy for me to talk about but I'd like to share my story with you to be a little more cautious when taking a dog to a groomers....
Spiffy was my 3 year old yorkie-poo, i used to call him my little soul-mate. We had taken him to a particular groomer for a bit then their groomer changed and i was no longer happy with how they cut him and the length of time they were taking. My mom had told me about a private groomer that she was taking her boy to, so i decided to try her out. Spiffy actually liked her which was a good thing i checked the place out she did the grooming in the basement the basement had a door and she puts the dog in the kennel down there. Anyways, i took him there for a good year and a half, Spiffy was always happy to see her and she always groomed him very good and in a really reasonable amount of time.....
On May 14/05 shw had called me that Spiffy was done and ready to be picked up. I told her I would be there in a couple of minutes since we lived very close. My dad had drove me to pick him up and when we got there her sone answered the door and started asking questions which seemed weird to me. Then he said "it's all my fault" I barged into there yelling for Spiffy and he told me he wasn't there...he came home from school and didn't know her my was grooming. When he opened the door Spiffy ran out. Obviously i'm freaking and panicing and he pointed me in the direction that they when, the groomer was not home as she was looking for him. My grandma lived very close so i called her perhaps he found his way there, but unfortunaetly not. My whole family was out looking for him. I kept calling the groomers during my search to see if she was back and got him....finally she aanswered "I'm so sorry i couldn't get him in time" before i got a hold of her my heart was just sinking i just knew in my heart that my worst fear was coming true. Deep down I knew there was no way she'd get him back as he'd only respond to "come" to me.
i got my grandpa to drive me toward her place and i saw my dad parked and he looked really upset he already knew...the groomer brought Spiffy to him...he got hit by a car, it was instant :sad: .Trust me....i wanted to see her...god knows what i would have done if i did,my family had to use great lenths to restain me as i wasn't in a right frame of mind to see her. We brought him to the vets...confirmed as to what we already knew...i tried cpr and everything but there was no way.
It's hard to write this post without balling. I tried to protect Spiffy from any harm, for the longest time all i could do was blame myself for not being ablr to protect him and for bringing him there. Please please please be VERY cautious when choosing and bringing your dog to the groomers.

Roxy's_MA
October 21st, 2005, 05:33 PM
I am so sorry this happened to your baby. :grouphug: It truly is a tragedy :sad:

kayla
October 21st, 2005, 07:33 PM
Aaaaaw, I'm sorry for your loss :sad:

I think there was a similar post a while ago and it wasn't a private groomer, so don't blame yourself about taking Spiffy there, things can go wrong anywhere, you were just unlucky :( . You obviously loved Spiffy very much and gave him a great life, more than many dogs could ever dream of. :grouphug:

doggy lover
October 21st, 2005, 07:46 PM
I'm so sorry to here what happened to your dog, its not your fault so don't beat yourself up about it. It was a terrible accident that could have been prevented if he had been caged or pened after she had finished grooming him. Once again I'm very sorry.

Beaglemom
October 21st, 2005, 07:58 PM
I'm so very sorry for your terrible loss. Losing a beloved family member is very hard, especially to such a tragedy. Don't blame yourself as it was not your fault. You were not able to predict that such an accident would happen.

susieqt
October 21st, 2005, 09:40 PM
April07, I am so, so, sorry that you lost your beloved pet this way. I am a groomer, in a salon, and losing a client's pet is my worst nightmare. It has never happened to me (knock on wood), although a dog did manage to get loose once and ran to the door just as a client came in. Thank God I caught him a few seconds later by opening a car door and he jumped in. I shook for awhile after that, knowing how lucky I was that he didn't get hit by a car. Try not to blame your groomer to much, as hard as that may be, as I am sure that losing your dog was totally accidental, just the door opening at the wrong time. I am sure she feels just terrible about this. Working with pets (or children, for that matter) always poses a risk for accidents.

Again, my deepest sympathies to you and your family.

Prin
October 21st, 2005, 09:48 PM
I'm so sorry for your loss! :sorry: Please don't blame yourself. Accidents happen, and you just never know what can happen. You have to trust some people and unfortunately, some let you down. It really wasn't your fault at all. :grouphug: :grouphug:

SarahM
November 2nd, 2005, 01:18 AM
I'm very sorry to hear about what happened to your soulmate.. I too feel that my cat is my soulmate.. As a groomer myself, it was terrible to hear about what happened to Spiffy, I would be devastated to be in that groomer's position. But I was disheartened to see that bold warning you gave out to other pet owners. I have been wanting to start my own business from my home, just until I got a large enough clientele to lease a commercial space. Horrible accidents happen sometimes, but there's no reason to blame it on a groomer, or a groomer that works from home for that matter. You say that you had been going for a year and a half...and that the dog was comfortable with her, she must have been good. If anything, she'd be WAY more cautious now and therefore safer, in my opinion. I work at Petcetera and once I had a little american eskimo try and make a run for it. Not knowing whether or not another employee had left a door open, I grabbed her as fast as I could. She got scared and bit me numerous times but I didn't dare let her go just in case she got out into the store then out into the parking lot. I'm sorry what happened, and I know that if something like that ever happened to me, I would hope the owner wouldn't hold it against me. Just as I hope you dont hold a grudge against your former dog groomer. She probably feels horrible and would feel better knowing you aren't angry with her, because it was really no one's fault.

april07
November 2nd, 2005, 01:33 AM
But I was disheartened to see that bold warning you gave out to other pet owners. I have been wanting to start my own business from my home,
I'm not meaning for this to sound rude.....but I DO think people have the right to know of situations and be warned of things that can happen that they probably wouldn't think of. It NEVER crossed my mind that taking my boy to the groomers would be the last time I EVER see him alive.Imo Spiffy should have been crated or kept in a seperate room where he has no access to get out,NOT ROAMING A HOUSE FREELY,especially with children.She probably feels horrible
I have never spoken to her afterwards,but did contact her by email......NOT ONCE DID SHE SAY SHE WAS SORRY

jessi76
November 2nd, 2005, 10:10 AM
I'm sorry what happened, and I know that if something like that ever happened to me, I would hope the owner wouldn't hold it against me. Just as I hope you dont hold a grudge against your former dog groomer. She probably feels horrible and would feel better knowing you aren't angry with her, because it was really no one's fault.

she lost her dog - she has every right to be angry. please don't minimize the loss of a beloved pet because a groomer's feelings are hurt, I'm sure april07's heart aches beyond belief.

I'm sorry, that's a very sad story... you are entitled to feel however you want, and in time, the anger will subside, the hurt will turn to happy memories, and you will be enjoying the company of another wonderful pet.

Lucky Rescue
November 2nd, 2005, 10:34 AM
How horrible!! I'm SO sorry both for you and for your sweet little doggie. I'm sure your heart is just broken.

Groomers must take reasonable care to ensure the safety of the pets they have in their establishments. That includes making sure the animal doesn't get out and get hit by a car. Yes, accidents can happen in spite of our best efforts, but in this case, it doesn't sound like reasonable care was taken.

NOT ONCE DID SHE SAY SHE WAS SORRY
An apology would be nice, even if it were given just to avoid being sued.

Again, so sorry April!!!:(

Prin
November 2nd, 2005, 11:22 PM
I work at Petcetera and once I had a little american eskimo try and make a run for it. Not knowing whether or not another employee had left a door open, I grabbed her as fast as I could. She got scared and bit me numerous times but I didn't dare let her go just in case she got out into the store then out into the parking lot. See, I have a problem with this. All the good groomers I have ever been to have at the very least double doors. The grooming room has a door, then there's a hall and then another door and then a room and then a door to outside. A doggy can't get through 3 doors unless the groomer is totally inept. If a dog park can have double doors, why can't a groomer??

Joey.E.CockersMommy
November 2nd, 2005, 11:37 PM
April 07 I am sorry to hear about your little guy. I recently took Joey to a private groomer. She does it in her basement, there is no double doors but I notice the dogs were all in crates either waiting to be groomed or to be picked up, she had about 3 dogs there. None of which were loose. She also had a chain link fence around her house and the gate was latched. Even so I wonder if I should take him to a more commercial groomer not sure if they would be safer or not.

Prin
November 2nd, 2005, 11:41 PM
I think your groomer sounds pretty cautious, Joey's mom.

april07
November 3rd, 2005, 12:13 AM
Joeys mom, I agree that your groomer sounds pretty safe she seems like she using alot of precautions and you've seen that she ACTUALLY uses the crates.

SarahM
November 8th, 2005, 11:38 PM
Sorry, I didn't mean for my comment to seem like I was more sympathetic to your groomer than your own personal loss. I also didn't realise that she had never apologized!!!!!! I would have done everything in my power to make it up to you, although nothing would make it up to you in that situation, obviously. I hope that you're still coping well and once again, sorry

chico2
November 9th, 2005, 08:45 AM
It is not the first time we read about this sort of thing and to me there are no if's or but's about it,the groomer was careless with the result of a little dogs death:sad:
Putting blame is not going to help a grieving owner,but the guilt is solely on the groomer.
We all know the heartbreak of loosing a much loved little familymember and I can understand your anger,but let yourself grieve and if the anger needs an outlet,pay a visit to the groomer.
Of course she feels bad,as well she should,but not half as bad as you do.:sorry:

JessXx
November 9th, 2005, 08:28 PM
Hello,
I'm sorry to hear about the loss of your dog.