We recently took our Cocker Spaniel in for a grooming at this location of Groomingdales, it was not our first time here, but will definitely be our last. When I picked him up his grooming was not "neat". It was worse than we have done ourselves at home. Uneven, lines everywhere, etc. I didn't feel this was worth complaining over because in order to fix it they would have to shave him even shorter. We only take him in for grooming every 3-4 months because he is very good for us at home and we can do it ourselves, but like to get him a nicer, neater cut every so often since we are not professionals.
When we got home after I picked him up I noticed that he was favoring two of his paws (one in front and one in back) and that his right eye was watering much more than I have ever seen. I tried to look at his paws, but he became very upset when I touched them so I left it alone. I could however see that his right eye was VERY red and came to the conclusion that something must have happened at the groomer to bother the eye as it was not like this prior, nor has it ever been. A short while later he began trying to get at his behind and I would tell him to knock it off. I started watching him closely and he was going after his bottom every couple of minutes, which is also something he has never done. He even started dragging his butt! This was an absolute first! When my husband and I were both home we held him still (he was very irritated and not taking kindly to being held or picked up, etc. Strange for a dog who wants to be on your lap 24/7 and LOVES attention) and took a look at what was going on, it turns out whoever groomed him gave him a bad clipping where his "boys" previously were. He wasn't fixed until he was two, so there is still some skin there and it was completely raw as if layers of skin had been removed with the clippers! I was furious because he surely squirmed or let out a yelp and no-one notified me of this injury!
I called the groomer the following day and explained my dissatisfaction with the situation, which did not include the fact that he looked like a 10 year old gave him his hair cut, but only the MULTIPLE injuries. The woman I spoke with said that he probably caused the injury to his "boys" by messing with it because it "itches" when the hair grows back... he did not cause that damage because we were not letting him get at them and the damage was already done the same day as the grooming! It doesn't itch within hours, and he's been groomed many times it never "itched" before. The spot was entirely raw! She did say that perhaps the groomer got too close on shaving his paws/pads, but excused the whole situation by saying the particular groomer was "on her period". That was 100% honestly her excuse. I asked for the owner/manager to call me and have called back twice, but still have not received a return phone call.
Since my other experiences were good, had I received proper customer service for this horrible situation I would have happily returned and simply never used the groomer who did this to my dog, but clearly they accept no responsibility for their work. It has been almost a week and my dog still has a very raw sore. If it doesn't heal by Sunday we are going to take him to the Vet. :(