SOURCE : PETA
When Henry’s guardian dropped him off at a California PetSmart grooming salon, he thought that his dog would be getting a simple, routine nail trim. But just three minutes later, a groomer reportedly emerged from the back room carrying the 1-year-old dachshund, who was limp, bleeding from the mouth, and struggling to breathe. An on-site veterinarian tried to save Henry, but within minutes, the tiny dog was dead. His guardian may never know exactly what happened in the back room of that PetSmart store, but a necropsy revealed that Henry had sustained two broken ribs and a punctured lung and died of strangulation.
Henry’s horrific ordeal is anything but an isolated incident. Big-box pet store chains like PetSmart, Petco, and others have a long laundry list of incidents involving animals who have been traumatized, allowed to escape, severely injured, and even killed in their grooming salons.
Beaten, Bloodied, and Baked Alive in the ‘Back Room’
These giant corporations deal in volume. The animals they sell come from cruel mass-breeding mills, where they’re crammed into crowded bins; deprived of food, water, and veterinary care; and killed by being bashed against tables or gassed in coolers. The grooming businesses shove animals through quickly and often carelessly. Profit is their priority, and as a result, countless animals have strangled after being left unattended on grooming tables; overheated in cage dryers; been badly cut on the ears by clippers; and been screamed at, roughly handled, punched, kicked, and strangled by frustrated, impatient, and abusive groomers at these chains’ stores.
While PETA has been alerted to countless other incidents, and many have gone unreported, here are just some of the many animals whose suffering and deaths in PetSmart and Petco grooming salons have made the news:
May 2018
On May 22, Brandi Villarreal picked up her dog, Lexi, from a PetSmart store in San Antonio, Texas, and found her distressed and breathing heavily. Her tongue was blue, and her gums were purple. After multiple trips to the vet over the next two days—during which time PetSmart called the distraught Villarreal requesting the veterinary paperwork—the previously healthy dog was found to have a consolidation in her chest (fluid in the lungs), likely caused by trauma, and had to be euthanized because of her declining condition.
April 2018
Ollie, a 4-month-old Maltese 
mix, sustained a broken leg during a grooming session at a Petco in San Antonio.
mix, sustained a broken leg during a grooming session at a Petco in San Antonio.
March 2018
Oliver Buttons, an 18-month-old cairn terrier, needed stitches for lacerations to his face and neck as well as surgical glue for nicks all over his body inflicted by a Petco groomer in Appleton, Wisconsin.
A cat named Cloudy died during a grooming session at a Petco in Providence, Rhode Island.
Abby, an 8-year-old corgi, died during a grooming session at a PetSmart in Toms River, New Jersey.February 2018
A PetSmart groomer in Houston was fired after a video of her violently handling a small dog went viral.
December 2017
At least two dogs allegedly died, and a third sustained a back injury, after being taken to a New Jersey PetSmart for grooming:
Just over an hour after his guardian dropped him off, Scruffles, a healthy 8-year-old bulldog, was reportedly taken to a veterinary hospital, where he was dead on arrival. The store apparently refused to give any information regarding what took place during his fatal grooming session.
An 8-year-old shih tzu named George allegedly returned home in extreme pain and arching his back. Veterinarians found that he’d sustained a back injury and prescribed him heavy steroids and 10 days of cage confinement.
Another dog, named Ranger—who was reportedly lethargic after returning home—died two days later on Christmas Eve. His heartbroken guardian had to break the news of his death to her children on Christmas morning.
March 2017
Ollie, a 5-year-old pug in Newport, Rhode Island, died after a grooming session at Petco. E.J. Finocchio, president of the Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said that it was clear the Petco technicians were not trained to deal with an emergency. “It’s very troubling here, what happened,” he said. “We have an otherwise healthy dog that goes to have his nails clipped, and he ends up dead, and there’s not much we can do about it.”
When Pepper got home from a grooming session at a La Quinta, California, PetSmart, she wasn’t acting like herself. Her guardian immediately took her to the vet, who found that the dog had ruptured blood vessels as a result of “some sort of trauma.” While PetSmart denied wrongdoing, it paid for Pepper’s vet bills.
August 2016
When Demon’s guardian came to pick him up from a grooming session at an O’Fallon, Illinois, PetSmart, she immediately noticed that he had labored breathing. He was rushed to the vet, where it was discovered that his temperature was over 103 degrees. Within 20 minutes of arriving at the vet, he was dead.
June 2016
When 5-year-old Casper was taken to a Petco groomer in Moses Lake, Washington, his guardian, Desiree, had no idea that he’d never make it back home. Instead of getting a call from the store to let her know that her dog was ready to be picked up, she got a call informing her that he was “non-responsive” and being taken to the vet. Sadly, he passed away.
April 2016
Shortly after Buff, an 11-year-old golden retriever, went in for grooming at a Poway, California, Petco, he began to have trouble walking and developed an infection. Soon after, he died.
March 2015
An employee of an Atlanta Petco was fired after reportedly being caught on a cell phone video violently yanking on a dog’s paw and shoving the terrified animal around on a grooming table while trying to clip his or her nails.
July 2014
When Sierra was taken to a Beckley, West Virginia, PetSmart for grooming, she came home with razor burns and a cut on her foot pad that needed suturing. PetSmart paid for the dog’s vet bills.
July 2011
A California woman reportedly sued Petco after her dog Sadie suffered from heat stroke, internal bleeding, and burns when a groomer at a California store left her locked inside a cage dryer
. Sadie had to be euthanized because of the extent of her injuries.
. Sadie had to be euthanized because of the extent of her injuries.
Don’t Trust Just Anyone With Your Animals’ Lives
If it isn’t possible to groom your animals yourself, hire a groomer who makes house calls, and insist on staying with them at all times during the process. Groomers who have nothing to hide should welcome your presence, and it’ll help your animals to feel at ease, too.
Always thoroughly research and screen potential groomers, and don’t hesitate to get your animals and leave if something seems suspicious or “off.”
