I am usually not one to complain, but I feel that this needs to be shared publicly. Yesterday morning, I took my dog to Leashes and Leads to be groomed. Around 1:00 pm I received a call from them that I thought would be my notice that they were done grooming him and I could go pick him up. Unfortunately, the call was from the groomer saying that there had been "an accident," and that my dog had been cut. I was told that "the bleeding has stopped, and our vet looked at him, but he will need stitches" and to come get him. Mortified, I rushed over to Leashes and Leads to pick up my dog and although he wasn't bleeding at the time, he was shaking and appeared terrified. I was told I "wouldn't be charged for this grooming" and would receive "50% off the next grooming appointment." This, in itself, was laughable considering the horrific hack job my dog was left with. Not only did he have a gash in his neck, but two of his legs were shaved, random spots had been shaved around his body, and he had one single strip of shaved hair down the middle of his back from the base of his neck to his butt.
To be told that I wouldn't be charged for this "grooming" was a giant slap in the face. I alerted the grooming receptionist that I was taking my dog to the vet for stitches and would be sending the bill to them because I would not be paying for the damage to my dog. She vehemently agreed and verbalized that the manager would be calling me very shortly that day to check in on me and my dog.
The vet sedated my dog for the procedure, gave him an antibiotic injection, and placed 7 sutures in his neck, right over the jugular vein. He stated that my dog and I are very lucky, because if the cut had been only a few millimeters deeper, his jugular vein would have been nicked and he could have easily bled to death right there. Furthermore, my dog has raw patches of skin and small cuts where he was shaved much too close around his penis, anus, and two spots on his legs. I was advised by the vet to keep these clean and to try to keep my dog from licking them to avoid an infection.
Needless to say, I am mortified. I am upset, incredibly mad, and sad that my sweet dog, who used to love getting groomed, has had to endure this traumatic experience. I never received a call from Leashes and Leads yesterday asking how my dog was doing or apologizing for what happened. In fact, I had to reach out to them myself in order to speak with the manager and inform her how bad this situation really could have been, in the hopes that nothing like this ever happens to another pet. The manager apologized, but noted that "these things happen." If that is the case, one would think that Leashes and Leads would be more equipped to handle the situation.
I'm not a business owner, but I know that this is not how a business should be run. There was zero follow-up on their end, I had to go to a different facility to have the horrific grooming job fixed, and I can say that I will never EVER take my dog back there again. So no, I won't be needing the "50% off the next grooming appointment," thank you very much. They have yet to pay the vet bill, but I'm hoping Leashes and Leads will do one thing right and pay the $300 bill once this is all said and done.
Pet owners, please be advised that grooming accidents can be fatal, and I will only be trusting my beloved pet with a company and dog groomer that takes this seriously. read more