PetSmart Dog Groomer in Hot Water after Customer Catches Cringing Abuse on Camera
There are plenty of dog owners who take their dogs to be groomed. While most people can manage bathing and brushing their dog, they often have to trust the experts for clipping and general doggy haircuts.
Brooke Vowers’ 2-year-old dog, Boo, was due for a grooming. Vowers took the Shih Tzu to a PetSmart in Katy, Texas, on Feb. 1.
Vowers dropped Boo off and trusted PetSmart to take care of her for a few hours. It soon became clear that the groomer didn’t have Boo’s best interest in mind, but fortunately two customers did.
Terah Leder and Zahiana Jenkins saw a PetSmart employee grooming Boo as they walked around the store. The grooming section had glass windows, making the grooming sessions viewable to anybody in the store.
While the groomer’s behavior toward Boo is not the absolute worst case of animal abuse, it is alarming how comfortable the woman felt publicly treating a dog the way she did, especially at work. The groomer’s aggressive way of handling the dog angered Leder and Jenkins.
Boo’s coat was being trimmed when Leder’s concern grew to the point that she knew she wanted to take action against the groomer. However, she had to resist stepping in immediately.
Leder wisely wanted proof of the PetSmart groomer’s handling of the dog, which including pulling and yanking at Boo’s face and ear.
The concerned customer could only stand to record using her phone for about two minutes before she felt she needed to stop the groomer.
“She was just being very aggressive with that little dog, just grabbing it by the ears…The small dog was not really being aggressive or even being resistant, really,” Leder explained to The Washington Post.
Leder and the groomer’s eyes met after the two woman banged on the glass window while yelling.
“I saw you,” mouthed Leder to the dog groomer, who would find herself in hot water now that she was caught.
Corporate and the store manager were both informed of the incident with video proof. Leder and Jenkins couldn’t leave without informing the dog’s owner, though.
They waited for an hour before they saw Vowers leaving the store with Boo and approached her to explain what had happened to her dog.
Vowers later wrote on Facebook that the video footage made her feel sick to her stomach. She still wanted to post it, though, to warn other dog owners of what could happen.
Vowers does not plan on ever taking Boo back to PetSmart for a grooming session. The groomer was fired two hours after PetSmart watched the video.
Vowers wrote on Facebook, “It’s unfortunate someone had to loose there job but i truly hope this is an eye opener to new policies with grooming monitoring in the future ! I hope changes are made and this prevents future damage.”
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