It's the phone call or message no groomer ever wants to get. It usually goes something like this, "After my dog got groomed, ____ happened." The blank might be, "He became really itchy," "He got an ear infection," or "He began to limp." The possibilities are endless.
Sometimes, the problem is something we can work with. If the dog is itchy after grooming, we can note that and try using different products the next time it is in. But, other times, we are at a loss as to what to do. If the dog's ears seemed fine when we saw it, were we somehow responsible for starting an infection, or was something brewing deep inside the ear that just happened to become evident after grooming? If the dog walks away from the grooming, seeming perfectly sound, but begins limping the next day, the pet owner will try to explain this away, and blaming it on some fault of ours might seem obvious to them.
If the owner reports that they took their dog to the veterinarian and the doctor said grooming caused the problem, how should you respond? The first thing to focus on is clear communication. Remember the old kids game called Telephone? The first person would whisper something to one kid, and that kid would whisper it to the next kid, and so on. The last kid would say the message out loud, and it was always funny because the original message would have been totally mangled as it passed from person to person. Because of this, always check with the veterinarian's office to find out precisely what they determined.
In many cases, the pet owner will have misinterpreted what they heard. Most veterinarians will be careful with their choice of words. They might have told the owner, "Something like this mayhave been caused by grooming," but seldom will they flatly state that the problem was definitely caused by grooming.
If the pet owner wants you to pay a veterinary bill because they believe grooming caused whatever problem the pet is exhibiting, you should consider the following:
- Do you know or suspect something that happened during the grooming process injured the pet? If so, paying the bill is reasonable. Some groomers request that the veterinarian put in writing that they suspect whatever the problem is was caused by grooming before they pay for the treatment.
- If you do not believe anything occurred during grooming to injure the pet, for example, it walked away from grooming with no discernable limp but began limping in the days following grooming, discuss the situation with the pet owner and the veterinarian. You can remind the owner that the dog was happy, bouncy, and wagging when picked up. If you have video cameras in your business, you can show evidence that the pet was fine after grooming. If other people witnessed the dog walking normally, you will have witnesses to back up your observations.
Handle any injury reports after grooming with compassion for the pet, but avoid admitting blame until you get all the facts. Sometimes, pets do sustain irritations during the grooming process, and we should take responsibility when that happens, but we should not accept the blame for problems beyond our control.
