An enraged pet owner has accused a Connecticut groomers of snipping part of her dog’s tongue off and giving the animal back while he was bleeding profusely.
The alleged incident occurred on April 4 at Dirty Tails in Plainville, where fluffy brown dog Teddy had been a customer for years, his owner told WFSB.
His owner, who has chosen to remain anonymous, only noticed the severity of his injuries when she was carrying him to her car.
Video footage of the dog following the alleged incident showed him panting frantically with a bleeding and partly mutilated tongue.
“I was carrying him out without looking at him, and when I got to the car, there was blood on my sweater, my hand, and my wallet,” the owner told the station.
“When I looked at him, he was panting, and the blood was dripping from his tongue onto the ground,” she added.
She described the ordeal as distressing and “really scary.”
Teddy’s mom returned to the groomers later that night but was denied entry and told the store’s manager had gone home for the day.
“I went down there, and I was asking her, pleading and begging, to talk to a manager. She’s like ‘no, there’s no manager available, she’s not here’,” so the owner asked if she could talk to the Dirty Tails manager over the phone.
She said she heard nothing from them that night.
Dirty Tails spokesperson Scott Reckert took responsibility for the incident and said the groomers “regrets” the events that unfolded, as per a statement to WFSB.
“Dirty Tails regrets the incident that occurred on Friday night [April 4] at their facility. Our staff member did meet the client at the door indicating that she could not let her into the shop as it was after business hours,” it read.
A manager from the groomers reportedly called the owner back three days later to issue a refund.
The Dirty Tails statement continued: “She further indicated that she is not a groomer nor a manager and has no authority to offer any type of resolution to this matter.”
Teddy’s family claimed their dog’s tongue had been permanently damaged and that it would never grow back.
She insisted, “I don’t want to damage anyone’s business,” yet she said it was necessary for the groomers to take accountability for their actions.
“I believe in being responsible, and I believe in treating individuals fairly with compassion, and I got none of that,” the pet mom said.
Dirty Tails stated that they were determined to “provide some relief and solace” to the owners and remained “dedicated to providing the best possible service to our clients.”
Police were reportedly contacted on the night but are not pursuing charges for either of the parties involved.
The Independent contacted Dirty Tails for comment.
