My dog was badly assaulted at the groomers yesterday- not sure what to do next.

[Padstow58]

Yesterday I got to the groomers to collect my dog to be told she got stressed and bit her tongue. Blood was pouring from her mouth! When examining her I also saw her eye was red and swollen.

I took her straight to the vet who told me she had received a substantial blow to the side of the head and there was bleeding within the eye and she had reduced vision.

They think she bit her own tongue from the blow.

I phoned the groomer later that afternoon who insisted nothing happened and she just got stressed and bit her own tongue.

Vet said this would not happen just from stress.

As groomer is denying it and I have no proof (apart from an injured dog) I'm not sure what to do next. But I can't do nothing and risk another dog being injured.

Any advice?

Assaulting a dog is potentially illegal- it's causing criminal damage because your dog is classed as your property so causing injury to a dog=criminal damage in law. Whether you could actually get the police to be interested in doing anything about it is a different issue.

Totally agree. Why do people put their dogs through this? It must be very frightening for them. It was never a thing years ago.
My friend left her dog at the groomers last week and it came back with blood pouring from its foot!

I've had so many bad experiences with groomers. It's a huge level of trust.

I mentioned to one groomer who was taking care of my very stressed cat how difficult it must be grappling him in front of a shop window - I'm sure it looks uncomfortable for the cat at times, albeit totally necessary. "Oh no" she said, "It's great - I've nothing to hide and I want people to be reassured I treat all my pets with full care all the time"

I'm so sorry OP I can only reiterate everyone else's advice of a full written report from Vet and report to various authorities, after you give groomer one more opportunity to come clean. If you're not happy with the explanation given I would then go on to report as needed.

I've no doubt my dog is miserable being groomed but he's also miserable in this heat or when he gets debris stuck in his coat.

My groomer is great and keeps an eye on skin issues, clears his ears and cuts nails which can both lead to poor health if unattended etc.

Definitely follow this up - you know your dog best and, if she's been to the groomers before with no issues, unless something happened to make her freak out, it's not likely she would, surely?

Might she have had some sort of seizure due to stress/the heatwave we've got going on? Babies/small children can have heat induced seizures - and I had a dog who once ended up with a swollen eye because he hit his head due to heat induced panic (luckily my father was with him at the time, so we knew exactly what happened to cause the swelling - but I can imagine your own stress, guilt and anxiety about this, because you don't know).

Dogs are classed as property - so yeah; I think if the groomer's telling you one thing, your vet's telling you another, and your poor dog's been hurt whilst in loco parentis, as it were, if it were me... I'd be on the line to 101 for their advice. Our groomers have CCTV, and insurance to protect themselves from liability suits - for exactly this reason. Dogs do sometimes panic in certain situations (another of my dogs had to be sedated to have his nails clipped, for example, because he dislocated a toe on a walk years earlier, whilst my mother's dog cannot be in a small room - he's a gigantic breed, though, to be fair - and has to have his vaccinations outside the back of the vet's or in their carpark, and my current dog has extreme separation anxiety and when she had surgery very recently, I had to be in the room, gowned up, whilst they knocked her out, because their previous tries... they couldn't get near her!). This, though... it does sound like something was dropped, or fell on your dog's head and the groomers trying to pretend that it didn't.

for you and a dog treat for your poor pup (who probably has a massive headache, now, too)

Oh my goodness @Padstow58
Do you think your poor dog panicked and fell off the table?
COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE.

Look for CCTV cameras there- a good groomer will surely have them for everyone’s safety.

I have been to pet shops where they do grooming and sometimes dogs are really crying.

Can you possibly groom your dog yourself in future?
We have a Whippet so she’s easy, but still gets her teeth done daily and nails cut weekly and brushings and foot washings-

I’m so sorry your dog had to endure this.

I used to take my dogs to a groomer. I'd drop them on the way to work and pop out to pick them up later.

One day I took them in and my dog was so reluctant to go through the door, then stood and urinated in their foyer. He was petrified. I told her he must be unwell and I'd be better off cancelling - paid her for cancellation and never, ever took them back. I couldn't prove anything and he couldn't talk unfortunately, but his meaning was obvious.

You wouldn’t believe what goes on, sadly.
There are some absolute bullies that choose to work with animals- who are vulnerable because they can’t “ Speak”.

Dogs are, rightly or wrongly, classed as property still - so if one is damaged (assaulted) then that is a criminal act. The police are the first port of call, if only for advice on how best to proceed.

As for the RSPCA... well; they tend not to actually give two shiny shites about animals unless there's money involved, for them so! My mother's spaniel got stuck several feet underground because she ran into a culvert before my mother could stop her. She called the RSPCA - whose advice was to set traps, and when the dog hadn't eaten for several days, then she might be able to wriggle out of the culvert and they could trap her. Fortunately, we were on Army ground at the time, and I'd come across some soldiers on my way back with my own dog and my panicking children - who were fantastic. Calmed my small son down, reassured my mother and me that they'd get her out even if they had to dig her out themselves, kicked the RSPCA off their land, procured plans of the culvert's pipes (it forked and we didn't know which one the dog had gone down after a certain point), called the fire brigade, tramped up and down a hill calling the dogs name into various outlet pipes until they located her from her frantic barking, and then the fire brigade pressure hosed her out! She was soaking wet, had bitten one of the soldiers poised to capture her (he was "she's frightened, it's okay, I've had worse nips off my horse!"), but she wasn't hurt... other than her dignity... and she was safely home within hours rather than days of my mother and myself taking it in turns to camp out where she'd be able to hear us/know we'd not just left her to it, which was the RSPCA's notion. Those soldiers - all young lads and two women - were absolute stars that afternoon, The RSPCA guy? His whole attitude from the moment he arrived was "not my problem".

But then...I did see someone post in response to you on a thread yesterday, pointing out that you're not exactly a dog fan, so...

Your poor dog @Ferferksake . My dog's a rescue and in the 10 years we've had her she's never been to the groomers, but I wonder if she had a bad experience at a groomers before she came to us. She's terrified of fans, hairdryers, electric heaters and has been since the first day she came to us. She's generally speaking a totally relaxed and confident girl but when I use the hair dryer she runs from the room with her tail between her legs.

I could never trust a groomer enough to leave my dog with one.

How upsetting, I hope Ddog is recovering well.
I too would ask the vet to document this and forward it to the police.

Yes-
I witnessed a dog being throttled by a head nurse at a vet hospital many years ago
I turned round as heard a commotion and she was astride the dog twisting his collar around with forelegs off the floor.

She said “ No dog growls at ME and gets away with it”

I took my dog from that practice’s books IMMEDIATELY.

That poor Border Collie would have been terrified.

She said people are generally “ Too soft” with animals.

If she reads this, she knows who she is🤬

Contact your insurers - they have independent vets

Oh god. No advice to add but what a horrible, distressing and shocking thing to have happened! I do hope your dog is alright

Your poor dog. Hope they are feeling better soon. If you’re going to use a groomer in the future you might be able to have a mobile one - I watch while mine is groomed and she stays calmer although obviously takes some time

I would lose it and my fella would want to knock heads. They must have CCTV of their own some where on the groomers. I would report them to the RSPCA and I would take it legal.

It absolutely IS a police matter, apart from criminal damage, we have animal welfare laws - breaking them is criminal, not cival, and so very much IS a police matter.

The RSPCA may be placed to give advice but they are not the police, they have no extra power over and above a member of the public, to take action. They are also not legal experts.

If anyone does need a legal expert in doggy matters there are several specialist legal firms who deal with these things.

My preferred one as I have dealt with them personally, is Trevor Cooper at Cooper & Co -doglaw.co.uk

Omg I would go crazy. Did the grommets call you to say your dog had injuried itself ? I would not rest till I got answers. I hope ur dog is ok

Am horrified reading this. What questions should owners be asking of a potential groomers before leaving their dog with them?

I was one of the people suggesting phoning the police. I’m not sure of the law, but it’s not an outlandish thought, so I’m sure the police would be happy to spend three minutes on the phone to explain why or why not it’s a police matter. 101 or email enquiry.

Ring the police. I spoke to a lady last week who's ddog lost an eye after a bad cut. She was too scared to ring the police. Any help towards getting such a place closed down will help future animals.

My spaniel used to go to a groomers, no problems at all. Until one day I picked him up and he looked utterly miserable. He wouldn’t leave my side for about a week and lost all his bounce for that time. I took him to the vet who said he was physically fine so I can only assume the groomer had hurt him or mistreated him whilst he was there. None of my dogs have been so any groomer since. They might get stick for their home haircuts but at least I know they’re safe from everything but ridicule if I do it.

I know how upset you must feel right now - however if the dog was extremely stressed and was thrashing around then there is a chance that you dog injured its head in the process (ie. whacking its head on something and biting its tongue at the same time). I wouldn't necessarily jump to conclusions.

However even if this was the case, they don't seem like very good groomers as they shouldn't have allowed your dog to become so distressed in the first place. I know that's easier said then done, but some groomers are better at handling nervous dogs than others. I would probably look for a new place to take your dog - do you have any mobile groomers near by?

How does your dog react when they go to the groomers ? Are they immediately stressed out or are they happy to go ?

Plenty of groomers have compassion and patience and calm and treat the dogs in their care. They don't get 'dunked' and they don't get blasted with a hairdryer. They get bathed and dried just like you would care for them at home.

My dog's incredibly nervous of people but when he gets to the groomers now he races up the stairs and strolls in like he owns the place. He's happy and jumps up the groomer like they're best friends and he's only been there a few times because we recently moved house. It's a real treat for him.

I would ask:

Who is your insurer?
What is your accident policy?
How will you deal with my dog if they react to pain or discomfort by growling or snapping?
How will you keep my dog safe during their groom?
What specifically is their safety policy on dryers?

If they can't give satisfactory answers to those questions, if they act shirty or pissed off that you've asked them or if the answers seem like bullshit - run the other way.

Things to look for:

Clean shop.
Not too noisey - some dogs will bark but it shouldn't sound like LOADS of dogs having a massive bark fest. If it is, that suggests they are taking on too many dogs and rushing them as a result.

Tables should be clean, non-slip, have an H bar or L bar with restraints, and various sizes of restraint according to the dogs size.

They should have disinfectant and multiple clipper blades/scissors they can disinfect between clips.

If you can't come back and see this, (you may have to arrange a suitable time to see their set up of course, its not appropriate to have a member of the public just wander in during the middle of a working day!) then again, I'd be concerned.

Avoid anyone who uses box dryers - effectively a big heated box your dog is shut in - crates with dryers pointed at them are safer but still... find out if dogs are left in crates with warm dryers pointed at them in another room, as dogs CAN be forgotten and overheated this way!!

The very best thing you can do though is teach your dog from day 1 to think standing on a grooming table or vets table and having someone touch them all over, lift paws, look in eyes and ears and mouth etc and brush/comb etc, is a GOOD thing. I don't mean 'tolerate it' I mean actively think its a nice thing.

If every owner did this, far far fewer dogs would be manhandled and frightened at the groomers and the vets.