Alicia64 Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 My friend's Maltese escaped the PetSmart groomer and ran out of the double doors. They found her a week later on the freeway, gone. I won't go into the details but it was pure negligence and then cover, cover, cover up. It was my friend's son's dog who is just sixteen. Anyway, we're now wondering if this sort of thing is an incident or a theme for PetSmart? They weren't all that helpful either in trying to help her find the Maltese the week that it was running around our town. Thanks for your help, Alley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Margo out of lurking Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 (edited) .. Edited November 20, 2012 by Kristine out of lurking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lang Syne Boardie Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 :crying: How awful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belacqua Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 How very sad. I understand that mistakes, even terrible, tragic mistakes, will happen, but to cover it up is unconscionable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 They searched for ten hours before finding the dog. That was a day I will never forget. I'll bet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GraciebytheBay Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 Oh wow, that is a nightmare scenario for all. :( Our Petsmart has the grooming area completely glass enclosed, and the door is not automatic like the main double door. There is also a latched half-door between the grooming floor to the customer side, a double protection. I feel very safe leaving our dog there. I feel so sad for your friend. I just can't imagine...:crying: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 Oh wow, that is a nightmare scenario for all. :( Our Petsmart has the grooming area completely glass enclosed, and the door is not automatic like the main double door. There is also a latched half-door between the grooming floor to the customer side, a double protection. I feel very safe leaving our dog there. I feel so sad for your friend. I just can't imagine...:crying: :iagree: Ours is also enclosed with a latched gate inside. I haven't been concerned about them grooming my dog. I would also wonder if the dog was outside the grooming area for some reason. It sounds strange. I am sorry for your friend.:grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephanier.1765 Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 I hadn't heard about them losing dogs before but I did know about them hanging a dog. It happened to my neighbor. He had told them not to use the noose on his pet because it is a pug and pug's essentially have no neck. I've forgotten the details on how the dog ended up hanging from the noose but the poor thing nearly died. It makes my stomach hurt just to think of it. So I was already opposed to using them for grooming but after reading your story there is absolutely no way in hell my dog is ever going there. It may take me an hour to groom her myself but it is an hour that she is relaxed and safe thus one that is well spent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettyandbob Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 OK I thought I was being cheap grooming our dog myself. dd keeps telling me he looks awful when I do it. But now I think I will never consider paying for grooming, especially not at Petsmart. We've gone there to have nails trimmed, but they do that while you wait. Now, I never want to go in that store again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mimm Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 I hadn't heard about them losing dogs before but I did know about them hanging a dog. It happened to my neighbor. He had told them not to use the noose on his pet because it is a pug and pug's essentially have no neck. I've forgotten the details on how the dog ended up hanging from the noose but the poor thing nearly died. It makes my stomach hurt just to think of it. So I was already opposed to using them for grooming but after reading your story there is absolutely no way in hell my dog is ever going there. It may take me an hour to groom her myself but it is an hour that she is relaxed and safe thus one that is well spent. :scared: That is horrifying! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudoMom Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 :iagree: Ours is also enclosed with a latched gate inside. I haven't been concerned about them grooming my dog. I would also wonder if the dog was outside the grooming area for some reason. It sounds strange. I am sorry for your friend.:grouphug: :iagree: That's just awful. I've only used them for a nailtrim once, but the setup of the grooming area was set up just like Sis described. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alicia64 Posted September 23, 2011 Author Share Posted September 23, 2011 You know, I wanted to let you guys know: my understanding is that the groomer is enclosed. Here's what happened. The groomer apparently caused an "abrasion" (her word) on the Maltese. . . took the Maltese out of grooming to the internal vet at Petmart (called Banfield). The vet wanted to give the Maltese an antibiotic -- yes! without talking to the owner -- and asked the "nurse" to weigh her. The nurse took the Maltese to the scale that is just out in the open and the Maltese bolted from the scale. PetSmart is claiming that the Maltese arrived w/ an abrasian which is just wrong. My friend had her at her own vet the very day before and she has the vet's notes that never mentions and abrasion. So, yeah, pretty awful. Alley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
black_midori Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 I haven't had that problem, fortunately, but I am borderline deciding not to use Petsmart as my groomer anymore for another reason... My big black lab (95lb) is sweet & friendly but doesn't like to travel. I've taken him several times over the years to PS to get groomed, and pretty much each time he goes into the PS and poops on their floor while we are walking in (which he NEVER does - he's 11 yo!!). I assumed it was because he didn't like traveling - when he was a puppy, he used to throw up in the car a lot. A couple weeks ago, I had the dog at the vet & needed to run get something from PS so I took him with me (the first time he'd ever been in NOT going to the groomer). He was totally fine!!! No problems, no worries, no poo... Out of the blue, several days BEFORE this, a friend mentioned that she didn't go to PS anymore because one of her dogs (that get groomed all the time & love it) really didn't like it there & was unhappy whenever they went in. Hmmm... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garga Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 I haven't had that problem, fortunately, but I am borderline deciding not to use Petsmart as my groomer anymore for another reason... My big black lab (95lb) is sweet & friendly but doesn't like to travel. I've taken him several times over the years to PS to get groomed, and pretty much each time he goes into the PS and poops on their floor while we are walking in (which he NEVER does - he's 11 yo!!). I assumed it was because he didn't like traveling - when he was a puppy, he used to throw up in the car a lot. A couple weeks ago, I had the dog at the vet & needed to run get something from PS so I took him with me (the first time he'd ever been in NOT going to the groomer). He was totally fine!!! No problems, no worries, no poo... Out of the blue, several days BEFORE this, a friend mentioned that she didn't go to PS anymore because one of her dogs (that get groomed all the time & love it) really didn't like it there & was unhappy whenever they went in. Hmmm... Maybe the smells of all the other dogs who have been in the store (and other pets for sale in the store) is too overwhelming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama Geek Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 I can't speak for the groomers, but we took our dog to the vet there only once. I don't remember why he needed blood drawn, but it took them multiple times to do it. I don't remember what else happened but we walked out of there not happy campers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WishboneDawn Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 This is why I avoid big box stores for services whether a computer store or pet stores or pharmacies in Walmart. The staff seemed almost universally poorly trained and uninterested in doing a really good job and my business is so unimportant to them that they can afford to brush me off if any issue arises. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PiCO Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 This is why I avoid big box stores for services whether a computer store or pet stores or pharmacies in Walmart. The staff seemed almost universally poorly trained and uninterested in doing a really good job and my business is so unimportant to them that they can afford to brush me off if any issue arises. :iagree: I can't imagine using a big box store for anything that needs an expert. Their staff is generally overworked and has high turnover. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer3141 Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 I think Petsmart's grooming area looks GROSS. There are way too many animals in there at a time. And I know that they rely upon vaccination only as a means of preventing disease transmission so they don't seem to care about the overall health of the animal. We did it once out of "convienence" but I was pretty disgusted at the end. Every single cage was full and it wasn't like the dogs got any attention at all if they weren't directly being groomed. Actually, I saw them get yelled at to, "Shut up!" quite a bit. And for the love of pancakes, what it up with "doggie perfume?!" I like the smell of clean dog. I'm not too excited about the smell of cheap prostitute and dog combined. Just.plain.weird. :glare: We've had groomers come to the house. One was awful. One was great. But ultimately, I went back to grooming my dogs myself again. My vet has told us not to take animals into the Petsmart store itself if we can avoid it. It's a great place to catch diseases like parvo, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alicia64 Posted September 24, 2011 Author Share Posted September 24, 2011 On the other hand... I take my dog to PetSmart at least once a week, and she LOVES it there. We use the "doggie day care" and the "pet hotel", plus the grooming salon, not to mention all the lizards, frogs, and other pets and pet accoutrements that we've had from there. My dog LOVES going there. She gets SO excited every time we pull into the parking lot. The staff all treat her really well (better than we do at home, truth be told), and we've never ONCE had a problem there. It's always very clean, and when there's a pet accident, it immediately gets cleaned and sanitized. I can't speak highly enough of it, and I recommend it to all my friends. A Houston PetSmart lost a politician's German Shepherd: http://www.click2houston.com/news/26180159/detail.html Couple more I quickly found: http://miniatureyorkshireterrier.blogspot.com/2008/08/yorkie-sues-petsmart-for-bad-grooming.html http://70.42.255.93/article/petsmart-lost-my-sister-tick-s-dog Alley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alicia64 Posted September 24, 2011 Author Share Posted September 24, 2011 So are you asking us if this is normal, or are you trying to get confirmation that it IS normal? PetSmart takes in THOUSANDS of pets each DAY. There are nearly 1500 (or so?) PetSmart locations in this country, and if you figure that each one takes in 20-30 pets each day (just guessing? maybe more?), then that's a heck of a lot of pets - each day! A few isolated incidents does not make a trend. Tragic? Yes. Enough to make me quit using PetSmart? No. Well, Karen, that's a good question. I'm really angry for my friend. You see, PetSmart did close to zero to even help her find the dog -- who was alive for an entire week before she was seen run over on the freeway. I'm also trying to ascertain if this has gone on a lot. I'm getting the feeling that the "big box" stores are not the place to take animals. Buy product, yes, but not take animals in for grooming. Alley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GinaPagnato Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 Wow, how horrible. :( I take my dog to Pet Smart for grooming on a regular basis, and have had nothing but good experiences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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