We called the grooming department the night before to inquire about expressing our dogs anal glands and we were told that we didn't need an appointment as it was a walk in procedure. We asked if 11 am would be ok and were told it was more than fine. Upon walking into the grooming area of Petsmart there was one other walk in customer in front of us which the groomer manning the computer seemed to have great difficulty handling. In the fifteen minutes that we were waiting to be helped, three other walk in customers came in with their dogs. Once the woman in front of us had her dog taken back, we were immediately ignored and the first woman that came in after us was asked if she needed help even though we were there before her and acknowledged visually several times. Having been here a few times before we brushed it off.
However after her dog was taken care of, we were ignored again in favor of the second customer to come in after us, at which point we had to speak up and mention how long we had been waiting. Upon finally being helped, the woman manning the register once again was having great difficulty putting in the services we needed. The first receipt we had received was only for a nail trim, when we had came in for a brush, nail trim, and anal gland procedure. The second receipt we received had every procedure listed, however once at the cash register to pay, only the nail procedure came up again. We had to tell them that the amount was too low and the cashier had to correct it.
While our corgi was getting his services done, we shopped in the store for food, treats, and toys for him and spent a great amount. As soon as this was done, we went over to watch the groomers handle our dog. He was repeatedly choked and greatly mishandled by groomer Alyssa H before he was handed to a short, blonde, caucasion groomer wearing glasses (i did not get her name. went back to get it but she was no longer in the grooming area). Upon assuming that everything was ok now, we went back to browse for treats on the wall opposite the grooming area. A few minutes later we were waved over as they had finished our corgi's procedure. When I picked him up, she informed me he was moving too much and she was unable to cut his front nails. She also stated that she should not have done his anal glands first and upset him so badly. His back end was covered in loose fur and he appeared quite dissheveled. Very upset with my services, I took my dog and pointed out that the other groomer we had always had, Mercedes, always took great care with our corgi and understood that they do not like having their feet touched and asked for the proper assistance. She also always brushed all the loose fur off of him and we never received him with a hair out of place. The shorter caucasion woman who assisted Alyssa seemed very annoyed and upset with me after asking how I would get a refund for the service not fulfilled, and her response was very curt.
I then had to go back to the cashier to get a refund for the nail clipping service. Upon getting my corgi in the car, who was now whining and shaking at this point, I noticed small specks of blood all over his seat cover. Assuming it was just a minor nick, I ran to do my other errands with my daughter. However, a few minutes after she pointed out that the blood had increased and now there were several bloody spots covering the seat. As a former nurse, I then instructed her to hold him and apply pressure. No longer able to finish our errands, we had to come home to tend to his injury.
My daughter then tried brushing the excess loose fur off and gave him a bath to clean the residue from his anal glands off. After getting out of the bath, he ran around the house as usual until we noticed even more blood everywhere. Upon further inspection, we noticed his nail had been cut at least through the middle of his quick.
He is currently sleeping in his kennel to calm down, and it has taken me over an hour to clean the blood out of the carpet.
I am furious about this experience, and I will never take my dog back here again. The service I received was entirely unnaceptable. If you were hired as a dog groomer, you should at least know the proper procedures in place for the services requested. read more