# Petco groomers chop off dog's ear and glue it back on



## Caitydid255 (Aug 28, 2010)

Petco groomers chopped off this poor little dog's ear, then glued it back on in the hopes that the owner wouldn't find out. The woman brought the dog to the vet at the discovery of the dried blood where the gruesome discovery was made. They also clipped the nails too short and cut the tip of the dog's tail off. Poor pup!
Women sue Petco Kaneohe claiming groomers cut off their dogs'... - Hawaii News Now - KGMB and KHNL


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## Courtney (Feb 12, 2010)

I don't even know what to say to this! My gosh


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## Bridget (Apr 5, 2004)

I took a dog to Petco to have nails clipped once and they clipped them too short and made the dog bleed. I know this isn't that unusual and it's happened to me a couple times, but they are supposed to be professionals! Needless to say I didn't go there for grooming again. I don't think they have professional groomers; might be ok if you just want the dog bathed.


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## 1sttimeforgsd (Jul 29, 2010)

How tramatic for the poor little puppy!


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

I had a vet clinic do that to a Boston. Not it's ears, but cut his _translucen_t nails down below the quick. They also put him outside on a late fall AM when it was below freezing outside, his body temp got so low they could not do surgery. Mind you this is a purebred Boston with the tiny short coat that doesn't keep them warm enough on warm days.
I was beyond pissed. Plus they delayed his neuter surgery because of that! We had to go pick him up and delay the surgery.

Then another clinic shaved my cats nipples off for her spay. Real classy, guys. The vet was so remorseful. Not. Just kinda "Oh well" about it. I could not believe it. I no longer take pets there to be altered.


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## ladyfreckles (Nov 10, 2011)

What is *wrong* with people?


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## juliejujubean (May 4, 2011)

I am speechless..


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## Geeheim (Jun 18, 2011)

Wow is all I can say.... =(


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

Terrible thing to happen...but the owner didn't notice it for a couple of days?

"Her grandmother, Gladys Kapuwai, says she took Dodo to Petco in Kaneohe for grooming last July and, a couple of days later, realized one of her ears had been cut.."

A couple of days?


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## nmlvaio101 (Apr 28, 2011)

I wonder what these ladies want to get in court. Yes, it is horrible the workers tried to hide it but you can't sew for pain and suffering of your animals, just medical.


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## Freestep (May 1, 2011)

A bleeding nail? Not a big deal, it happens, even to professionals, and is easily remedied. A nicked nipple during a spay? Again, it happens all the time; it's basically a tiny tag of skin that can easily get caught in a surgical clip, since you can't see them under the fur. Cutting off an ear and trying to cover it up? NOT OK, and ubelievable that someone thought they could get away with it.


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## TaZoR (Jan 26, 2012)

A few things about this bother me. The first is..the amt of blood would have been immense as ears bleed a Lot!! Im sure they had surgical glue on hand which (sorry to say), isnt uncommon with groomers. Nicking a small spot is common as many dogs spin and twirl and fight the grooming process literally tooth and nail. Had the ear been completely severed, surgical glue would never had held it in place or been missed by the owner. The dog, im sure would have been frantically pawing or rubbing the area, again, the glue, designed for small cuts wouldnt have held. 

How many people, saying their dog was covered in blood, not notice for days? Dont they look at or pet the dog? 

The nails, although sometimes cut short can also be opened to the quick in the parking lot by a dog pulling like a nut, wearing the newly cut nails to the quick in no time. Im not saying its what happened, just playing both sides.

Also, the tail being cut off? Highly unlikely, possibly nicked but it seems like the wording has been manipulated to make things seem worse. The tail has a bone, it would have been an amputation.

Im not defending petco, personally, i dont care for the store, but this complaint seems exaggerated to me. Its only my opinion and if they cut the ear by all means they should have consulted a vet and owned up to it. On the other hand, i believe the owners would have realized a major injury sooner. 

Something seems off....again, in my opinion.


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## Good_Karma (Jun 28, 2009)

Love how they offered a free grooming session to make up for it.


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## Freestep (May 1, 2011)

TaZoR said:


> A few things about this bother me. The first is..the amt of blood would have been immense as ears bleed a Lot!! Im sure they had surgical glue on hand which (sorry to say), isnt uncommon with groomers. Nicking a small spot is common as many dogs spin and twirl and fight the grooming process literally tooth and nail. Had the ear been completely severed, surgical glue would never had held it in place or been missed by the owner. The dog, im sure would have been frantically pawing or rubbing the area, again, the glue, designed for small cuts wouldnt have held.
> 
> How many people, saying their dog was covered in blood, not notice for days? Dont they look at or pet the dog?
> 
> ...


All this occurred to me as well... I looked at the pictures, and I couldn't see anything wrong with the ear. It's possible the ear could have simply been nicked, not severed, and the owner is blowing it out of proportion--you know how sue-happy people can be!


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## wyominggrandma (Jan 2, 2011)

As a groomer and I am sure every groomer out there has at one time or another cut something you don't want to. You have a moving target, and especially if the dog is not very mannered, moving, jumping, croughing, trying to bite, and you are supposed to use clippers, use scissors and do all this while the sweet little doggie is not standing still.
I think this is a bunch of malarkey. That ear is not cut off, you could not possibly cut off a dogs ear and then be able to send it home. Now, nick the inside ear while clipping the little hairs close to the skin, yes, that is possible, Nick the ear leather while clipping a matted nasty ear, yep. Very possible. And those bleed like a stuck pig. You don't just wipe it away and it goes away. 
Cutting the tail off? Again, what a crock. Okay, I suppose the very very tip of the tail could be cut, not the bone, just the tip. But again, it would bleed and bleed and bleed.
If the cut the ear and tried to use super glue to close it, then it might have started bleeding again if the dog scratched it off, but they are making it sound as if the entire ear was cut off and glued back again. That is ridiculous.
Just folks trying to figure out a way to sue someone and get some money. That photo of the ear looked perfectly fine.


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## Konotashi (Jan 11, 2010)

Wow. 

I've heard some horror stories of Petco's grooming, but none THIS bad before. 

I have a friend that used to take his Shih tzu there for a quick trim and nail clippings. They cut each and every nail too short and made her bleed everywhere. They didn't tell him. He found out when she started bleeding all over the house.


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## TriadGSD (Feb 19, 2011)

if the groomers said to the owner"hey ,i tried to trim the hair around his ears the dog moved i missed and cut his ear sorry we wont charge you for this grooming session " or called the customer im sure they have cell phones. then they might of not been suing them. but covering it up and not telling them? thats a no no no . i used worked in a photo lab at walmart .once when our develop machine broke with customers negatives inside we did everything to make the customers happy.


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## AbbyK9 (Oct 11, 2005)

I swear I've read this story last year. Maybe it was a different dog and a different PetCo. In which case this is even more unbelievable, if it's happened before.


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

Freestep said:


> A bleeding nail? Not a big deal, it happens, even to professionals, and is easily remedied. A nicked nipple during a spay? Again, it happens all the time; it's basically a tiny tag of skin that can easily get caught in a surgical clip, since you can't see them under the fur. Cutting off an ear and trying to cover it up? NOT OK, and ubelievable that someone thought they could get away with it.


No, every nipple, and why would one clip white nails (clear that is) so short, every dang one of them, _while the dog is under_, so short they bleed? It's not like the dog was struggling! 
Even worse (in our case) was sticking this poor thing outside so long his temp dropped so he couldn't be neutered.


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## OriginalWacky (Dec 21, 2011)

Cutting the nails too short, I can totally understand, although cutting them ALL so short they bleed easily seems to be a bit idiotic. Heck, I quicked my dog last night because she was wiggly while I was trimming (and we had been making SUCH good progress with relaxing during trimming). But it was only the one nail, and we finished on a high note with lots of treats. Nicking an ear or small cuts to the dog, I can see those too, it does happen. But cutting OFF a part seems extreme, and I can't imagine not noticing it right away if it were my dog. 

Mistakes can happen anywhere, it's all in how it's handled after. If a groomer/trainer/vet were to make a serious error with my dog, but tell me about it and take care of things, I'd be a lot more forgiving than if they screwed up and tried to hide it or deny it. Sadly a lot of people are very litigious, and fear of a lawsuit tends to cause some really stupid moves.


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## arycrest (Feb 28, 2006)

I took one of the Hooligans to PETCO to have his nails trimmed! The groomer put him on a table, put the noose around his neck, then walked off to do something. I was watching thru the window and went in and insisted that they take him down. The groomer argued with me that he wasn't going to hang himself ... I took him and got the nails done at the vet's office!


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## sparra (Jun 27, 2011)

wyominggrandma said:


> As a groomer and I am sure every groomer out there has at one time or another cut something you don't want to. You have a moving target, and especially if the dog is not very mannered, moving, jumping, croughing, trying to bite, and you are supposed to use clippers, use scissors and do all this while the sweet little doggie is not standing still.
> I think this is a bunch of malarkey. That ear is not cut off, you could not possibly cut off a dogs ear and then be able to send it home. Now, nick the inside ear while clipping the little hairs close to the skin, yes, that is possible, Nick the ear leather while clipping a matted nasty ear, yep. Very possible. And those bleed like a stuck pig. You don't just wipe it away and it goes away.
> Cutting the tail off? Again, what a crock. Okay, I suppose the very very tip of the tail could be cut, not the bone, just the tip. But again, it would bleed and bleed and bleed.
> If the cut the ear and tried to use super glue to close it, then it might have started bleeding again if the dog scratched it off, but they are making it sound as if the entire ear was cut off and glued back again. That is ridiculous.
> Just folks trying to figure out a way to sue someone and get some money. That photo of the ear looked perfectly fine.


I agree.....sounds a bit iffy to me. That dog would have been miserable if they had cut its ear off and stuck it back on not to mention how much ears bleed.....it would have been shaking its head and blood all over the place. As for the tail.....you need bone cutters to cut off a dogs tail.....just all sounds a bit far fetched.....well to me anyway.....


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## GSDGunner (Feb 22, 2011)

sparra said:


> As for the tail.....you need bone cutters to cut off a dogs tail.....just all sounds a bit far fetched.....well to me anyway.....


Just to clarify, the article said the "tip" of the tail was cut off, not the entire tail.


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## OriginalWacky (Dec 21, 2011)

arycrest said:


> I took one of the Hooligans to PETCO to have his nails trimmed! The groomer put him on a table, put the noose around his neck, then walked off to do something. I was watching thru the window and went in and insisted that they take him down. The groomer argued with me that he wasn't going to hang himself ... I took him and got the nails done at the vet's office!


The groomers at the boarding kennel I worked at were really strict about a dog NEVER being left on the table without a person - NO matter what. I think that's just common sense, but it was good that they had the policy just to make sure.


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## Freestep (May 1, 2011)

msvette2u said:


> why would one clip white nails (clear that is) so short, every dang one of them, _while the dog is under_, so short they bleed? It's not like the dog was struggling!


If you need to clip the nails that short, what better time to do it than when the dog is under anesthesia and can't feel it? We've actually had owners request this, in cases where the nails have grown out so long that they can't be clipped without pain. The quick grows out with the nail, so when nails get overgrown, it can be impossible to clip them back to a safe length *without* making them bleed. Not saying your dog's were overgrown, but I've seen it so many times I can't tell you. In fact I worked for a vet who used to tell us "make 'em ALL bleed" when clipping nails under anesthesia--we'd then cauterize them, so there would be no bleeding or pain when the dog awakens. Then they'd have beautiful short nails, and the quick recedes back to where it should be. There's no way it could have been humanely done any other way but under anesthesia, and the owners were grateful.

So, that's why one would do it. I have seen some ghastly toenails in my time, some that have curled under and grown into the pad, causing nasty sores and abscesses.


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## wyominggrandma (Jan 2, 2011)

We have owners all the time request, when we are doing a surgery, to clip the nails very very short while the dog is under. No pain for the dog, and the nails get taken short at no stress.
I don't for a minute believe the dogs ear was cut off. I believe that maybe the small flap at the base of the ear was cut off, but again, not the whole ear. I also have to wonder if the owners were told, but are now saying different to cause an uproar. 
I think the groomers at Petco/Petsmart are trained to do things fast and get the dogs done and another one up on the table, but I don't believe the dogs ear was cut off and then "glued" back on and nothing was said.
As far as nails and getting blood, with long nails, its pretty common to nick and draw blood. Since most owners won't make the dog mind long enough to clip nails themselves, they wait until they are long as spikes or grown around and into the pads, then want them cut short. You can only cut so much before they bleed. Of course to do nails properly to keep them short, you need to cut or grind them weekly on the tips, that will keep the quick from growing outso much. I grind Holly's nails weekly, she lays down on the floor and I grind them down. She has short nails, as soon as I hear them "click" on the floor, I grind them down again, even if it hasn't been a week. Most folks want nails cut every five or six weeks, and don't understand how fast the quick will grow out in that time.


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## Dainerra (Nov 14, 2003)

I just read the article, it says the tip of the ear was cut off. From the sound of it, it was a pretty small piece of ear.

Angry owners sue Petco over grooming gone bad | Pets - Yahoo! Shine


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## Whiteboy (Jul 19, 2011)

heard this on the radio and they made it sound like they cut the tip of the ear off and petco already had another lawsuit on them for cutting a tip of tail of another dog. either way i dont see this being petcos fault a person accidently cut a lil to much off the top. what was wrong is they tryed to glue it back on and play it off. never went to a groomer but if i was petco id train the grromers a lil more and make a waiver to sign if you want your dog groomed by them. just my 1 cent


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## Dainerra (Nov 14, 2003)

sign a waiver that if they injure your dog you won't complain? not too likely.
The article I read said that at least 1 other person contacted them about problems at the same shop. That's a total of 3 dogs so far. All with similar complaints.


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