Ashley Martins
Oct 28, 2025
I brought my 2.5 year old Shepherd/Retriever mix for a nail trim and to have her paw fur shaved. I get this done monthly and have witnessed her old salon working with my dog, who always did very well. I decided to try this place as it’s closer to home and regret it. First, I was disappointed I was not asked for any proof of vaccination. Nor did I have to fill out any paperwork like I’ve had to everywhere else. That probably should have been my clue to leave. Once Sophie (my dog) was brought to the back, I could see her through the door the entire time. She was good and calm during the nail trimming, but was in an extreme amount of distress while her fur was being shaved. While I don’t think the woman necessarily cut Sophie during the incident, she clearly had a cut or wound on one of her paws that was either not apparent to me before, or was a mistake on the groomer’s part. I’m quite aware mistakes happen and it’s not the end of the world in the event the groomer did cause this. I too have accidentally nicked my dog’s paw when doing it myself in the past and dogs can be fidgety. However, my issue came from when I asked (from the other end of the store) to stop as at this point Sophie is yelping, crying and extremely upset and frantically trying to get loose. I have never, ever, seen my dog in this much distress or making sounds like this and knew this was beyond normal stress. The woman kept trying and I insisted she stop. She brought Sophie out and kept trying to pick up her paw to show me she felt she had a pre-existing wound. I’ve now at this point repeatedly told her to stop touching her. I just want to give my dog the space she clearly is demanding. The woman said she thinks me having been in earshot and eyesight of Sophie made things worse. I respectfully disagree that my presence is causing my dog to have a fear and trauma response to that degree. I can empathize that owners love their dogs dearly and may be overprotective, but it’s concerning to me that had I not been present to demand she stop, my dog would have been traumatized further and her paw worse off. I also did not appreciate that I had to ask numerous times for her to stop the trim and then stop touching my dog once she was brought back to the front. Since inspecting her paw at home, she is extremely sensitive to touch and now has her foot wrapped.
