Q: Dog Killed at PetSmart While Being Groomed.
On Christmas Eve (12-24-2009) We dropped off our family dog of 11 years (Gizmo) at the groomers and one and a half hour later we received a called from the PetSmart groomers saying "come pick your dog up, he is just laying on the ground and he's not moving". When we got there 7 to 8 minutes later, our dog had no pulse, and was not breathing. There was no Vet called even though they have a Vet Clinic called "Banfield Veterinary Service" attached to the PetSmart. We are devastated today and we want answers but NO ONE from their head office or the local store in Bloomingdale, IL is talking. What do I do? The groomers (4-5 ladies) did not do anything while our Gizmo was laying there helpless. Their Add/Promotion on TV says "Professional pet stylists who are safety-certified and trained in ALL areas of care" so that would mean CPR correct? They did NOTHING to help us save him, not even CPR. The store manager decided to leave early for the day so he was not even present when all this happened. He came almost 30 minutes later. They wanted us to take our dog to an emergency clinic which was 40 minutes away in the 6 inches of snow fall. They didn't have the common decency of calling one of the Vet on-call until I yelled at them and told them that I was calling the cops if they do not get a Vet from their clinic here ASAP so the manager called a Vet who came 25 minutes later and she (the Vet) made sure that she along with the store manager told my family while we stood there in tears that "she didn't have to come today since it was Christmas Eve, she came out of the goodness of her own heart", (gee, thanks!!). She didn't tell us anything different that we already knew. We already knew our Gizmo died way before even we got there. Today, the Soni family wants answers! What did they do while grooming him? Why isn't anyone at the local store or the corporate office talking even after receiving my mail? Even the girl who groomed Gizmo, would not talk properly. Yes, we want answers and we are heartbroken today. Our holiday season will never be the same again. We had Gizmo since he was 6 weeks old and on March 10, 2010, he would have been 11 years old. We miss him so much and remember him every single day. Please DO NOT TAKE YOUR PET TO PETSMART FOR GROOMING or for that matter ANYTHING!! The people there just do not care about your pet. We feel that the muzzle might have been on too tight or for too long, or the hair dryer was too hot for our little Gizmo to handle. Or, both!! He was the king of hearts and the king of our house.
We do not want any other family to go through what we went through on Christmas eve, please do not take your pet there.
Feb 08, 2010
Did you have to sign any type of contract with Petsmart when you took your dog in? Check it, if you did. Don't know if you would want to seek any legal action. That may be up to you. I would also HOUND THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS out of the corporate offices. Call , write, email, again and again. Tell them you will take this to the local papers and TV. They will not want the bad publicity and you just may get some justice.
I know it will not bring back your beloved dog and my heart goes out to you. But perhaps this can be stopped from happening again.
Thumbs Up: 20 | Thumbs up!
Feb 05, 2010
We don't have Petsmart in Hawaii yet, but Petco just recently came here and we've taken our long haired GSD there. It was expensive, over $90 for her, so we'll probably never take her back there again, but the grooming table is behind the cash registers and you can totally see everything through the big windows. That in itself indicates that their practice has nothing to hide.
There was a recent incident at a different small groomer, involving a little dog that died there. What had happened was that the little dog's toenails were being cut extremely short, apparently the owners let it get too long in the first place, as the dog was indoors. So the groomers cut it very short (like show dog short), the quick was cut on every single nail, and the dog was restrained during the process. Somehow the dog strangulated and died, and the owners were called to come in to get the dog. Their vet examined the dog and said the dog probably was in a lot of pain and panicked and struggled so much, leading to the death as it was muzzled and had the grooming loop on him too.
So, as sad as this story is, I'd have to wonder if the dog somehow was struggling or panicking and then somehow died as a result. Since the owners aren't around when the dog is being groomed, only your dog knows how it was treated there.
To avoid things like the toe nail trimming stress, owners should try to trim them at home, and keep it short so that the quick doesn't get to long. It is really important for indoor dogs to get this done often as they don't have the concrete outside to wear down the nails (unless you go for long walks on the sidewalk daily). Even though your dog might struggle at home, at least you know that you are doing it, and not risking it to a stranger who might be abusive to your pet.
Thumbs Up: 16 | Thumbs up!
Feb 02, 2010
this is more common than you'd think. i'd recommend that you contact your local Better Business Bureau and file a complaint, for one. the complaint will go on their record and they will try to mediate. also, contact your local Attorney General. they will do a lot of the same stuff that the BBB does, but they actually have some degree of authority, which, honestly, the BBB doesn't. there is still no guarantee that either of these entities will produce any results...if the business doesn't respond, ultimately, there's nothing they can really do.
contacting a local news station would be worth a shot. news stations need human interest stories, and ones involving animals are always popular. plus, it would be super bad publicity for that PetSmart.
additionally, bad-mouth the hell out of them, locally in person, and all over the internet. look for any place that you might leave a negative review and warn others. one good place that will likely get a lot of attention would be on www.yellowpages.com , where anyone who looks up the store's address of phone number will get to see your story. i also highly recommend www.ripoffreport.com . i filed a complaint with them about a business not too long ago, and now, when you Google that business, my story comes up on the *very first page* of Google search results.
this long after the fact, it could be hard to get answers. an autopsy should have been performed before anything else was done to the dog. at this point, you've pretty well stuck taking their word. you might talk to a lawyer. i can't imagine that they don't have plenty of security cameras in the store...maybe what happened was caught on tape, and if there were a lawsuit, your lawyer might be able to get at that. i know that there's nothing that can be done to bring back your pet and that no amount of money can make it better, but a great many heads need to roll over this, and others should be warned.
Thumbs Up: 15 | Thumbs up!
Got a question about your pet? Get the answers you need from Zootoo's community of pet experts and owners.
Advertisement
Advertisement
