i have not had good luck with groomers until now. when i went to petsmart, my dogs shook so badly we left promptly. cages everywhere, dogs everywhere, loud blowers, all the glass windows. it was just very unsettling. i love petsmart but not the grooming. petsmart is great to shelters!!!

It is very sad that 2 dogs have died at petsmart while being groomed. I am sure that they didn't do it on purpose. Most people that work with pets really like there jobs. Maybe it was just an accident.

I,m very sorry for their loss. I've been a groomer at petsmart for two years. People don't now how hard our job is. Your dog may be the sweetest dog in the world but at the groom shop he's a nightmare.Some dogs behave badly when they are away from their families. They constently move around or even try to bite. Unlike people, when dogs get their hair cut they are moving around. When you have sharp objects around an animal that won't sit still accidents are bound to happen. If a dog gets cut we immediately take him to the vet. Of course petsmart PAYS THE VET BILL and depending on the circumstances will comp your comp your groom for free and give you free merchandise. Everytime I've called a pet parent to come pick up their dog because he was stressed or behaving badly they would always get mad at me because I would not finish the groom. So unless you have first hand experience with grooming don't automaticaly assume it was all the groomers fault.

This is no coincidence! Two time??? Please!!

This story definitely needs more investigating and more facts.

I have taken my dog to PS to be groomed (summer shave) twice. The last time when I picked her up she had knicks on her skin like someone got careless with the razor. When I asked, they told me it was irritation from fleas. My dogs do not have fleas. A week or so later I was in the check out lane and from there you can see the dogs being groomed. Myself and about five other people watched in horror as this terrified smaller dog was jerked around very roughly by the groomer. It was horrible. One man walked over and said something to the groomer. My dog will never go there again.

what a tragedy. and a routine grooming? holy cow

Where can you feel safe? You really don't know what happens at grooming or boarding when you are gone. You dog can't tell you how well he was treated when he gets hom. They should have random checks on each center and have them undercover or suprize to see what is really going on

has anybody heard any more about this

This is your worst nightmare come true story.

This comment has been removed.

There are a lot of groomers and assistants that don't pay attention to the animal they're grooming. My own dog jumped out of a tub with a slip leash tied around her neck and I was right by her just reaching for a towel! At the grooming place I work at, we never leave an animal on a table or in a tub by itself and if we need to, we ask someone to stand by it to watch the animal just in case they decide to leap.

I don't know about suing the first time, but definately a hard invetigation to prevent any other losses.

I took my long-haired 14-year old cat to Petsmart in Bakersfield on Ming Ave. last year. She gets hair mats and I told the groomer exactly what I wanted done - just a shave. I insisted on waiting for her as no one had informed me of their "process". Before this three hour ordeal was over with, I was back behind the counter and in the back retrieving my cat out of an oven blowing hot air on her. The groomer became angry when I told her to get her out of there and grabbed my cat and flung her around in a manner that was abusive to me. I calmly asked her not to handle her like that and I asked for the manager so I could get my cat back.
When I got her home, I found cuts from the shaver on her and it was uneven all over. I'd never take any animal to that place. The groomer was a cruel bully and now I want to add, after hearing of the dog's death, this place needs needs to be investigated.

thats awful

This story acts as a bit of self-assurance for being uber-protective of my dog. It isn't hard to do these things yourself, and it's worth the time spent just to know that your pet will be treated with care.

Sounds kinda fishy that an incident happened twice at the same store.

they obviously need to get more trained officals becuase if that is the second dog to die getting groomed hten something is wrong. they must be doing something else besides grooming.

I hope they have a strong investigation. This shouldn't happen to anyone.

If it was my dog I would get a attorney and press charges. This is crazy its petsmart and a pet store. They should take the best care of our pets. Not kill them.

This is so sad! I feel so bad for the owners.....things like this shouldn't happen......people who do grooming should be trained extensively on how to handle animals before being able to do any type of grooming or other pet care. Training is especially important for handling "difficult" animals.

I am sorry for the lose of these peoples animals. This is tragic! Training needs to be in place for all groomers as well as certification.

I personally would never go to a chain store to get my pet groomed. These are very sad stories.

It is hard to distinguish what happen without an autopsy. It is sad that this happened twice. People need to be more aware of signs being close to death or suffocating.

Can we say law suit? I'd go for it. Petsmart needs to have a training program for grooming animals and have them sign an agreement to be liable for the well beings of the animals they tend to. Meanwhile, I wouldn't leave my animal anywhere to be groomed...I'm like a mom to my pup..I'm by her side all the time when anyone is tending to her...most places including groomers don't mind this. Maybe more people should try this approach as a preventive measure.

How horrible. I would have wanted to know if there was anything else wrong with my dog. If not then someone did something wrong and I would have to know. So sad...makes me never want to leave my dog anywhere ever again!

TERRIBLE TRAGEDY!

Something should have been done the 1st time around.

How heartbreaking; my dog goes to the vet for her nail trimming and they don't muzzle them. I believe i would take action also.

Petsmart sends all of their groomers away to be specially trained. They don't just hire anyone that applies. They have hundreds of stores across north america, and only two deaths? I'd say that's pretty good compared to most since they are using sharp objects around dogs. It was obviously an accident. A muzzle was probably put in place because the dog was BITING THE GROOMER. If you are trying to bite your hair dresser and she accidentally punctures your neck with scissors, is it really because she isn't trained or did you put yourself in danger? It's possible the dog had something wrong with it as well. I work at a petsmart in canada, and a lady brought her dog in to be groomed. Just before the lady gave the dog to the groomer, it died in her arms. The lady didn't think there was anything wrong with it besides that it was quite old.

Most petsmart employees care deeply about animals; you don't apply at a pet store unless you like animals. I'm a cashier, and nobody but the store manager gives a crap about how much money we make. Our paychecks are the same size regardless of how much money we make, so really we prefer less customers because when it's busy, it's stressful.

I feel sorry for the lady, but I think you should take into account your dog's behavior and decide if it's really suitable for it to be around sharp objects with strangers while you aren't there. It had a muzzle on for a reason. Groomers aren't for all dogs.

Suing a company that gives so much money to pets to stop euthanasia is horrible to suggest. It would just kill more animals who needed the money to help them live. Everyone shouts 'SUE' at every chance and it's really annoying. Will having more money really make you feel better? Sue for a high-up job placement within petsmart and try fixing the problem instead of taking their money. Take action, not money.

Thank you so much for making us aware of this. I had no idea of these fatalities. Offhand, it sounds like perhaps employee lack of training or skill. Offering to work with the dead dog's owner on getting another dog sounds so bizarre - like offering to replace someone's child or saying, "Hey, get over it." I wonder if this occurs in specilaty grooming salons and we just don't hear of it, or is Petsmart negligent?

Why are the groomers still employed at PetSmart? I would think they would lose their jobs. Totally unprofesional. If that is how they trim dogs at work, what are they doing in their homes. They need checked out!

They should have looked into this much more the first time around. No animal should lose its life while being groomed. It sounds like these employees need a refresher course in their grooming skills.

apparently the people working at that petsmart aren't in touch with their animal intuition. lol, if you hear a dog whimpering, or can see it struggle, HEY! somethings wrong!

Very sad. It is hard to believe that the groomer did not recognize the dog's distress. I do not have a dog but I do go to PetSmart and have seen dogs being groomed. Just cannot imagine how this happened.

And this is exactly why I do not use Petsmart or Petco Groomers and/or vets. I'm not convinced that these people know what they are doing.

I think charges should be filed. It sounds like they have employees that are not properly trained.

Makes me think twice about taking a pet to get groomed...

I recieved a phone call recently at work from a lady whose dog was cut while getting groomed at petco. They need to look into hiring better more qualified individuals.

A long time ago a young, inexperienced vet assistant was helping restrain a dog for a procedure under the supervision of the vet. Ghe wound up strangling the dog and killed him. It was devasting and I've never forgiven myself. Botton line...it was the groomers responsibility and they should take it.

Was it the same groomer? How can someone not know that an animal is in distress!

I don't think the grommers were trained in how handle nervious dogs. They should probably just stop trying to work on any such dog.

This must stop. A chain of this size that promotes their love of animals should staff more qualified employees and remember that the animals come first- not profit margins!

Let me re-emphasize! It is not what you're seeing through the window at grooming, it's what's going on in the bathing section behind closed doors. This is where the dogs are initially scared out of their wits and reach the highest level of stress. Trust me, as one who has worked there. Why don't they open that up for viewing to the public? Then we'd see a complete difference in how they're handled back there. Until then, if your pets are prone to stress, don't have them groomed there.

That is why I don't take my dogs to petsmart. They were so mean to my chihuahua while clipping her nails. You can't even touch her feet now because of how mean they were to her..I am not a petsmart fan at ALL.

that woman should sue,because they killed her dog.so should the other pet owner.

Overall, I think PetSmart is a great store, however, they need to be held responsible for the dog's well-being while it is in their care.

poor dog...second time? Wow, i wouldn't bring my dog to petsmart grooming, anymore. Was that the same petsmart as the other one? I would be devistated if that happened to me....

That is not good. They need to look into this as soon as possible. It's time to find new methods. I find that employees at this type of store are not very good at helping customers either and are not very knowledgeable on the products if you can get help.

Oh good god. . . This is so sad. Does anyone know if this happens often? Do dogs accidentally die at groomers sometimes? I've never heard of this before