One family in Norton, England is infuriated after their dog reportedly suffered an allergic reaction after being groomed at a local Pets at Home franchise. The dog’s owner, Terry Maughan, left his 20-month-old West Highlander terrier with the grooming service at the store to receive the treatment, but was shocked to see the state of his beloved dog shortly after they arrived back home.
Maughan says that his dog, Snowbell, was having trouble breathing and couldn’t open her eyes by the time he got her home from the groomers. He rushed her to the vet and they told him that she had suffered an allergic reaction to the shampoo that was used at Pets at Home.
The dog’s heart was racing, her eyes could barely open and were all red, and she was drooling a lot. Snowbell was also walking into things, so they feared she may have permanent eye damage. After swift treatment from the vet they began to see an improvement in her condition.
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The family was astounded that this happened to their dog. They didn’t expect something like that to happen when they left their dog in the hands of a trained and licensed professional groomer. They went back to the store to explain what had happened and warn them that the same thing could happen to another dog if they continued to use the chemicals.
Maughan says that it took the company three days to respond to their complaint, and the representative that they spoke with never even asked about Snowbell’s condition. He also said that they never received an apology.
However, the company has launched an investigation into the products that they use in their Groom Room salons. A spokesperson for the company stated that all staff in their grooming facilities are highly trained and only use products that are specifically formulated to use on pets. The spokesperson also said that all their products have a history of being used in the pet grooming industry.
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It was stated that the same products used on Snowbell are used in all 179 Groom Rooms around the country and there have never been reports of another case like this one or any other allergic reactions in pets. Snowbell’s issues began just an hour after being treated with the shampoo at the Pets at Home store in Festival Park in Stoke-on-Trent.
However, another dog owner spoke up and said that her dog suffered a similar experience after being groomed at the same Pets at Home location. Nicki Jones, also the owner of a West Highland terrier, says that her dog suffered the same symptoms after being groomed there last year. After four vet visits and two eye surgeries, she was still told by her vet that her dog may go blind.
