ComplaintsforDharma Dog Services
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Complaint Details
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Initial Complaint
12/05/2023
- Complaint Type:
- Service or Repair Issues
- Status:
- Answered
I have a 14yr old ****** mix. She has been coming to Dharma Dogs for about a year now. She is a tiny gentle dog who has gone to groomers her whole life. On May 9th 2023 the groomer nearly killed my dog. They called me for pickup fully downplaying the situation saying how my dog was ready to be picked up and Oh by the way your dog has a small cut and we suggest you go to the vet. We rushed over to the veterinarian and they began evaluating her. As I saw the doctor observe the cut I nearly passed out by the size of it. The cut was so deep the vet said it fully cut through her inner neck muscle. The vet told me they had to rush her right into surgery in which they would administer 5 stitches under general anesthesia. The owner of Dharma Dogs calls me and he told me they figured she would need surgery in a calm tone, like it was normal. As my 14yr old dog now faces the risk of being put under general anesthesia... as you may know there is a high chance an elder dog wont wake up after.The cut missed any major arteries or blood vessels in her neck but it was a deep enough cut that if it was slightly more to the right it would have cut into a massive blood artery.I was in shock, couldnt stop crying and couldnt believe that someplace I trusted, where they knew my dog, would do this to her. I never would have imagined that they would return her in the condition she was. I have been awake since this day through the night as my poor baby cries from the pain this groomer put her through. Dharma Dogs told me after this incident they have now put a policy in place for older dogs. But please tell me why a company would even take older dogs as clients if no policy for their safety was in place. Why did my dog have to be the one to be hurt and risk her life for them to realize animal safety is important?Business response
08/06/2023
In regards to the incident below;
- we have a pre-arranged relationship with veterinarians in the area in case of incidents.
the client was able to have her dog treated immediately because of the arrangement in place.
in ****** appointments, weve had 10 situations that required stitches. In this case the clients dog moved while an electric clipper was being used. The clipper pinched the skin resulting in 5 stitches in the neck area. The cut was unfortunate and unlucky.
Upon speaking with the vet, the dog didn't require life saving medicine, or a week of monitoring, but the wound to be monitored twice a day to watch for infection and the anesthesia and stitches were a success.
The wound did not cause much bleeding at the shop so the staff didnt panic. We have pet first aid certified care on site.
we created the senior policy after this incident to ensure clients are familiar with the risk of grooming an animal, let alone a senior dog.
we now require a waiver acknowledging the risks as well as allowing us to understand any health concerns prior to the groom. Prior to this situation we didnt require a waiver and have changed our approach.
when i spoke to the client, i remained calm as this situation, while being an unfortunate one that we feel terrible for, didnt benefit from panic. The situation was handled appropriately by all professionals involved and i felt secure knowing that the dog was in veterinarian care.
no bill for the initial incident was paid for the client, as we covered the expense. The client requested a copy of the paid bill (unsure why) as all records would be forwarded to her medical clinic of choice and the bill paid for.
aside from our phone call, she has not reached out again other then writing a review, and reporting our business to the better business bureau.
our apologies for not acknowledging the bbb complaint as the message hit our spam folder.
we truly hope her dog is okay.
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Customer Complaints Summary
1 total complaints in the last 3 years.
0 complaints closed in the last 12 months.