Snips & Clips

Review: After years of taking our dogs to this establishment for grooming. Our Shiba inu was picked up by our teen aged son who noticed that the dog was limping ... after returning home my wife called the owner who denied any knowledge of any issue but stated that perhaps it happened during nail clipping. It turns out that the dog has a torn ligament which requires veterinary care. The owner further stated "Oh it's just a dog" This person is the one people are expected to trust their animals with? We are now forced to decide on expensive surgery or an expensive brace.Desired Settlement: We feel this company is responsible for animals when in their care and believe they should share in the expense of repairing the dog's knee.

Business

Response:

Dear Revdex.com:

I have received a letter from the Revdex.com concerning a complaint about my business. This is my letter explaining what occurred. The dog was groomed on July 16th, 2013, not August 12th, 2013 as stated in your letter. This was an ordinary grooming day for me nothing out of sorts that needed to be reported. The dog was very compliant and non-aggressive during its groom. I never noticed the dog limping during or after her groom. No one else working in the grooming shop that day noticed any animals limping. I never said nor have any knowledge of saying that “Perhaps it happened during the dogs nail clipping”. I did tell the client that her son got the dog out of the cage and walked the dog to his car. What happened to the dog from the cage to the car is something I can not answer. The owner of the dog states in your letter that I said, “It’s just a dog”, my client misconstrued my words. I believe she said the dog was, “one of her children, her baby”, I said, ‘"No it’s not a baby, it’s your dog, your pet”. The client then went on and said that her dog is an equal to her children; 1 had nothing to say to that statement.

I groom many dogs a year. It has been my practice for the past 16 years to bring to the attention of the pet’s owner any problems or potential problems the animal may have that 1 observed. I always inform the owner to contact their Veterinarian ASAP if necessary. My records indicate that this dog had a subluxating patella that I observed over at least two to three year grooming periods. It’s my practice to always inform the clients of these sorts of conditions. I am able to tell of hundreds of pets with health issues that I gave the owners knowledge of and directed them to their Veterinarian to seek medical help.

I have expressed how sorry I was to hear that their pet was experiencing health issues. When I got the phone call on August 23, 2013. this was over a month after I groomed this dog. I thought the client was simply giving me an update on her dog. The client gave me an update and then asked me how much money I was willing to pay them to fix their dog? I told her I feel I am in no way responsible for her dog’s health issues. I told her I was unwilling to pay any amount since the dog was perfectly fine while in my care. The client got very upset and asked me if I was willing to risk my reputation over this matter. I again told her the dog was perfectly fine in my care and I'm truly sorry for the health issues her dog was experiencing. I also told her this is a breed of dog that is known for having loose ligaments. I have many dogs that come to me with subluxating patella issues which is a common problem dogs experience before a cruciate tear.

Again I feel I am in no way responsible for the injury of this dog. If anything had happened while the dog was with me under my care I would have notified the owner of the issue while the dog was under my care and suggested to seek medical attention if necessary.

Again 1 would like to make it clear the day the dog was with me being groomed was July 16th, 2013, not the 12th of August 2013 as the client stated to the Revdex.com. The date she called me with the accusations about her dog was August 23, 2013 well over a month after the dogs grooming. Then on August 27th, 2013 a very good friend of mine informed me about the above client accusing me publicly on Face Book that the client took his dog to my establishment (using my business name) and the client came back with a dog that now requires knee surgery, this was an expensive grooming bill. The client was trying to use this as a scare tactic but I still feel 1 am in no way responsible for her dog’s injury. I am attaching a copy of my business card and I hope this answers any questions as to the events on the day of July 16th, 2013.

Consumer

Response:

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

Review: [redacted]

With all due respect I am rejecting this response because it is a bold faced lie. I may have inadvertently stated my dates incorrectly, but our dog returned from the groomer injured.

This groomer at best is a vet tech, nothing more. For her to diagnose Patellar Luxation is ridiculous since the animal sees the vet on a regular basis and no diagnosis of this kind has ever been diagnosed by the vet.

Simply because a groomer thinks she can use orthopedic terms does not make her anywhere close to a diagnostician. This is simply laughable. The issue with the dog is a torn collateral ligament. For her to make the statement regarding Patellar Luxation is nothing more than a smoke screen. The dog was injured at the groomer, plain and simple. I can't prove this, but this business has a reputation that I will make certain is known throughout the [redacted] and [redacted] County area.

Consider this matter closed as far as the Revdex.com is concerned, but I feel it is my duty to make certain that a "consumer beware" notice is recognized in the [redacted] and [redacted] County areas.

"[redacted]"