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?

Dogs can't get assaulted, only people.

Your dog could have panicked another something or went for another dog and bashed their head against something.

Then the groomer should be honest about what happened

Hydrotherapy is different though as the dog is focussed on the water etc.

The grooming is less interactive for them.

They ask. My groomers ask not to return before they notify you the dog is ready for that exact reason.

My dog had physiotherapy and massage after surgery. The treatment was entirely hands on by the therapist. I stayed with her through every appointment.

The grooming process cannot be more interactive than hands on physio.

Previous posters have described being present whilst the dog is groomed at home so it's possible. If the groomer doesn't want you there, you have to ask why.

Why can't dogs be assaulted?

@BunnyBettChetwynnd don't talk nonsense anything that has been beaten is assault

Don't talk shit. Of course an animal can get assaulted!! 😡

Or the groomer could have just simply assaulted the dog. Why would you try to lessen an assault by blaming the dog.

If someone did that to my dog I would definitely consider it assault.

This is horrific and hope u get some answers. I’m wondering if she left the dog or dogs unattended and came back in to it and has got the fear and now lying to cover her tracks.

Not excusing it at all this is we’re honesty is the best policy!!

That's the same as a vet visit, though. You're there at a vet visit but not during surgery.

You're there to calm the dog, like you are at physio.

With grooming they need the dog to remain as still as possible. Our groomers have more than one dog at a time. More people there than necessary that the dogs dont know would stress lots of animals out.

Just to add, there's obviously more than one groomer

'assault' is a verb that means: 1 make a physical attack on. Or 2 a physical attack.

How can dogs not be assaulted?

OP I think you know deep down that your dog has been struck somehow. I also really struggle to understand how it could be accidental.

I think if it were me I'd give the groomer one last chance to be honest and tell them that if not I'd be taking action and next steps. Is there not some sort of regulatory body for dog grooming? I honestly don't know.

Sorry you and your poor dog are going through this.

You missed out the important bit:

assault
noun
as·sault ə-ˈsȯlt
: a threat or attempt to inflict offensive physical contact or bodily harm on a person (as by lifting a fist in a threatening manner) that puts the person in immediate danger of or in apprehension (see APPREHENSION sense 1) of such harm or contact

Contrary to the delusions of dog people, a dog is not a person.

This actually makes me feel sick as someone who uses a groomer.

There's absolutely no way this dog just banged its head, if that was the case then the groomer would known and that would have been the first thing she said.

"Dog was thrashing about and hit his head which lead to him biting his tongue"

The whole eye/head incident has been covered up if it was an accident the groomer would have been able to explain it away, she'd have had to have seen it happen considering their hands a generally on them at all times and it would have had to have been a good whack to cause the damage it has so he couldn't possible have hit his own head without her knowledge.

If the OPs dog is used to being groomed and usually well behaved during the process then I highly doubt he was getting distressed and thrashing about. I'd never in my life clipped my previous dogs until lockdown happened and I had no choice. My dogs were already that used to being groomed that they actually stood there on the grooming table I'd bought and let me loose with the clippers and scissors without once making a fuss at all even though they weren't used to this happening at home and they would have been able to tell that I was anxious/nervous.

@Thesharkradar abused then. Or attacked, punched, hit.

I think the way that poster phrased it came across as that dogs don't get as assaulted aka abused/hit/punched, so the dog must have hurt themselves. That's why a lot of people have got defensive.

The dog has been abused, cruelty has been inflicted upon it, this is clearly wrong and if I was the owner I would go down to the dog parlour and slap the woman upside the head so it's a good job I'm not the owner of the dog!
(Of course I wouldn't really, I'm not quite that dumb- but I would want to)
Words like assault and murder only apply to humans and if we try to apply them to animals we quickly get into moral difficulty because we 'assault' and 'murder' animals in order to consume them for our gustatory pleasure.
(Not me personally, I'm a vegetarian)

People who enjoy inflicting cruelty will be attracted to animals because animals can't speak out for themselves. in the same way that paedophiles like pre verbal children. This is how certain types of predators operate.

'assault' is a verb that means: 1 make a physical attack on. Or 2 a physical attack.

But in legal terms would in not be animal abuse/cruelty?

I've never heard of anyone being charged with animal assault

@Copperoliverbear I completely agree with you. I was quoting another poster who said dogs can't be assaulted.

It seems that those saying dogs can be assaulted are picking up on the terminology not doubting that the dog has been injured in some way.

Being separated from your owner, with other other unknown dogs and potentially other unknown groomers must be stressful for the animal.

The vet and the physio need the dog to remain as calm and still as possible too. They allow the owner present, not during surgery obviously, but for delicate tasks like stitch removal.

Having read all of this thread I've seen nothing that would encourage me to leave my dog with any groomer.

It's generally not practical to have owners stay with their dogs.

A groomer is likely to have several dogs in at once - bath one, rough dry, stick it in a cage in front of a dryer whilst you bath the next one...

Clip one whilst one rests, swap around..

There is not the space either to have multiple owners waiting around and to do dogs from start to finish without a break, that could take 3+ hours of non-stop grooming, which is intense for the dog and inappropriate for many.

Of course if you're willing to pay for your dog to be the only dog being groomed that morning, and for it to take longer to give your dog breaks... but most people aren't, and it isn't a business model that works well on a 'mix n match' basis with most owners dropping off and leaving and some owners staying with.

Of course dogs can be assaulted, but thats not what the charge would be legally.

omg just read your update. Please please follow this up and don’t let them get away with it.

Op I feel quite sick and upset at your dog's abuse..... Please ring the police. You never know there may be other complaints.... You need to explore all options on behalf of your furry friend....

Are dogs really at the groomers for three plus hours?

I know how trapped and pulled about I feel doing three hours at the hairdresser for highlights and I go of my own volition, understand that it will end and can say stop or get up and walk away if I've had enough or it's uncomfortable.

What a nightmare for the poor animal. How has this become a thing that is acceptable?