Business ProfileforAnimal Arts Academy of Pet Grooming

We were clients of a groomer who worked at this business for a couple years, having followed her from a previous location. When she left, they offered another groomer to fill in for our upcoming appointment. Given that our dogs' profile sheet was complete with details, and the previous groomer had seen him at the establishment several times, were were OK with this. On his second visit since the departure of our previous groomer, I got a call an hour prior to his expected pickup time, with no voicemail message (I was working). When I called to verify he was ready, the owner warned me there had been a "freak accident" - and said that in her "30 years of grooming, she's never seen this happen". Long story short, she said my dog, (who is sensitive about his claws getting trimmed as disclosed on his profile and as fully acknowledged by the owner in her second sentence on the phone), had "donkey kicked" when her groomer tried to work on his paws. According to the owner, the groomer had been holding her shears in just such a way that it "cut his paw". She then warned me "there was a lot of blood because paws do that", and that she'd done her best to bandage it, and he was hanging out quietly. She offered the name of a vet unfamiliar to me that might be open until 8PM to check him out. I picked him up, and when I got him home and the bandage had fallen off in the car, I was shocked. His paw was bleeding profusely, and he was distraught - going crazy working at the wound and in obvious pain. I called my vet, after putting on a fresh bandage, who agreed to see him early the next morning if I could drop him off. She advised me not to go to a 24 hr vet bc of the poor experiences people were having during Covid, and gave me instructions to stabilize his wound and bandage properly. Upon inspection the next morning, she informed me his toe had been nearly severed, and part of his paw pad was gone. (!!!!) The laceration went clear through, from back to front, between his toes. She took photos. She placed sutures, and the next 3 weeks were full of return trips to change his bandages, keeping him on painkillers and sedatives, only allowing him on-leash to go outside, and hoping he would make a full recovery. While the owner's initial texts were full of concern, and requests for followup information on his condition, the MINUTE I advised of the cost for his care all-in, which was in excess of $750, the owner completely ghosted us and went radio silent. We asked via email twice, with copies of his bills - whether she's planned to file a claim with her insurance for any portion of the cost, and communicated that we felt the sole responsibility for the cost ought not to lie with us. It was her employee holding those shears, and KNEW he was sensitive about his claws. She ought not to have been using anything without a guard on his toes or near his feet. This may have been an accident, but as the owner of a grooming salon - it is their WHOLE business to hold/use sharp objects near a moving target - they should have insurance-- and they should, at the very least, share in the cost to return the animal to the condition it was when it entered their care. We were disappointed at the lack of professionalism and accountability. Our dog has yet to regain full normal use of his foot when he runs, and he's only 4. He was traumatized. Needless to say, we would never recommend this business - not necessarily because of the acident that occurred - but because of how the owner chose NOT to handle it, and her total lack of any response, or accountability.