From an earlier post to my Facebook page.
I only chose a "star" in the rating because I could not continue with zero stars.
I have been stewing about this and decided I needed to get it off of my mind.
All of you know that I have a pit bull named Raina, I post her silly sweetness all of the time. Many of you have had the opportunity to meet her, have had her jump into your lap or cuddle with your children.
I have always taken Raina to Petsmart at Pittsburgh Mills to get her nails trimmed.
We won't be going back.
On our recent visit we walked into the salon and noted that it was a busy day. We were not greeted. We were told by a surly young blond woman that "it's going to be 10 or 15 minutes". I said no problem. I proceeded to stand quietly in a corner with Raina seated at my feet. One woman did ask if we'd been there before, I said yes. Eventually the surly blond came to the counter and said "have you been here before". I said yes and started to give her my last name. She interrupted me with "phone number". I gave her my phone number and confirmed my dog's name. She stated "your rabies is expired" I replied, it's not, she got it in 2015, I can't remember which but it's either a 2 or 3 year vaccination and I brought the paper in when it was updated. The staff member replied "it's expired". To which I replied, it's not. I attempted to show her the tag and again stated it was a multiple year vaccination. She replied "3 years, (eye roll) rabies is 3 years but my system says yours is expired so it's expired unless you have the papers". I stated that I did not have the paper work, but also couldn't understand the mix-up. She replied "if you don't have proof I can't do her nails because she's old and I'm not allowed to muzzle an old dog and she's a pit bull".
Let that sink in for a minute.
I walked out silently. Any of you who know me recognize silence as the hallmark of my extreme anger, the kind of mad that does not come easily to me. The kind where my crazy is shining in my eyes.
That young woman is extremely lucky that I am self-aware enough to have walked away. I can assure you that I am considerably more ferocious than my pit bull.
To be clear, I'm not upset about the rule. I get it, it protects workers and all of the animals who are entrusted to their care. It makes sense and I respect it.
I am upset about a staff member who on a busy day was clearly not looking for anymore work to do. I mean, hadn't she immediately attempted to dissuade me from waiting?
I am upset about a service professional who could not say "it looks like our records need updated for Raina's rabies information, do you happen to have her vaccination paperwork"?
I am upset about a service professional who was spoiling for an argument rather than ready to acknowledge my inconvenience and apologize for not being able to provide the service I was seeking. Would it have been so hard to say "I'm so sorry for any inconvenience, I see that you are a long time customer and it seems like our records were not accurately updated when you brought in the paperwork- we'll look forward to seeing Raina another time".
I was not upset that Raina couldn't get her nails trimmed, it is not life or death. It would have been no big deal; I would have gone home, put her records in my purse and gone back another day. I am basically a rule follower and I understand the inherent safety concern behind that one.
I am upset because this obtuse and insensate young woman decided to close her unnecessary argument with a comment about my dog's age and specifically her breed.
I am furious about her behavior, her ridiculous bias and her insensitivity.
My sweet girl was discriminated against by a young woman who likely imposes her injudicious beliefs on all of those pet owners who trust Petsmart with the care of their animals. Im sure that many other pit bull owners probably haven't had the opportunity to actually hear it spouted by her in this uneducated and malefic way, but it sure does make this pit bull mom wonder how else her profoundly misguided "opinions" affect the work that she does?
Looks like it's time to dust off the Petco Pals card and try out the doggie boutique on route 8. read more