Deaths in Pet Salons

Perspective of a Professional PetStylist

by Chuck Lauritzen, Asst. Director ISCC

The incidence of serious injury or death of any pet within the environment of a petstyling/grooming facility is a very tragic & regrettable event that demands to be in the spotlight of public & professional scrutiny. Let there be no doubt that it is a conscious decision to leave a pet unattended, or to subject a pet to the confines of a cage/crate that is heated by a dryer, or to intermingle pets into groups without constant & rigorous supervision to cope with their unpredictable reactions to one another. There may be explanations for accidental occurrences, but the reputations of professional petstylists/groomers are deteriorating into that of an industry that is replete with incompetence & negligence for which there can be neither excuses nor any acceptable vernacular to dismiss their culpability for the absence of common sense & judicious decisions.

The best safeguard against incompetence & negligence is the due diligence of prudent, conscientious, educated  & properly trained petstylists/groomers who adhere to the unwavering protocol that a pet may be unattended for not more than a few minutes & only then if that pet is comfortably & safely secured within a cage/crate, that the use of tools, equipment & techniques will never be excessive, that neither abuse nor neglect nor harsh methods & practices will be tolerated, & the condition of the pet will be continuously evaluated to assure its well being. Pet owners should expect that reputable petstyling/grooming professionals will be forthright with information pertaining to their qualifications & credentials of training, their experience & their efforts to improve their educational & technical skills as well as their attitude & philosophy regarding their love of animals.
Should a petstylist/groomer be reluctant or unwilling to provide pet owners with straightforward answers to their inquiries, then it is incumbent upon the owners to seek another pet salon for the humane care & treatment of their pets who cannot speak for themselves. Owners & their pets deserve protection & redress from any unscrupulous, incompetent & negligent members of the petstylist/grooming industry who pose a threat that may end badly with the sudden loss of a beloved pet & companion.

Petstylists/groomers must be imbued with the character & integrity to be accountable for their actions & the consequences thereof, while also recognizing that their methods & practices demand a critical evaluation of the parameters that will strictly define their continued usage. This prescription is a very subjective interpretation, but it behooves the petstylists/groomers to endorse & adopt the ethical standards that will govern their conduct & behavior to eradicate the preventable injuries & loss of life that have become a blight upon the reputation & public image of the entire petstyling/grooming profession. Should the petstylists/groomers be unable to invoke the uncompromising guidelines by which safe, effective & humane methods & practices become the minimal standard of care, then the intrusion of government regulations & the judiciary system into the daily activities of our businesses & our lives is inevitable.

Petstyling/grooming must be measured not only by the aesthetic, cosmetic & styled appearance of a pet, but also more significantly by the intangible dedication of its practitioners to the humane treatment of their pet clients.  While it is presumed that the licensure of petstylists/groomers would improve the level of expertise & the quality of care provided by a totally unregulated profession, it is no more of a panacea against the injury or death of a pet than the licensure of a physician is against malpractice. The repetitive failure of groomers licensure legislation that has been introduced in many states is attributable to the punitive rhetoric & oppressive content that was designed to penalize an entire profession for the transgressions of a minority of offenders who have brought the negative publicity & notoriety upon the innocent majority of petstylists/groomers.

Since there are no mandated prerequisites or any governing authorities to impose sanctions upon professional misconduct within the petstyling/grooming industry, the unsuspecting owners & their pets venture into harm’s way if the owner’s choice of a pet salon happens to be that of someone who has neither the education nor the experience to compare to the qualified petstylists/groomers who have devoted their careers to improving & maintaining the health, well being & appearance of their pet clients.

Petstyling/grooming professionals have been striving to oversee & elevate the performance & standard of care of their industry through their membership, support & active participation within several organizations whose mission & purpose it is to advance the educational & technical acumen of professional petstylists/groomers via advanced continuing education courses, seminars & voluntary testing/certification of their academic, artistic & practical skills that will directly benefit the pet clientele they have chosen to serve. The most notable among these are The International Society of Canine Cosmetologists (ISCC), based in Garland, TX; The National Dog Groomers Association of America (NDGAA), based in Clark, PA; & International Professional Groomers (IPG), based in Elk Grove, IL. While these organizations dictate differing degrees of compliance & achievement, The International Society of Canine Cosmetologists (ISCC) has unquestionably the most stringent & comprehensive criterion to attain their multi-faceted certifications that culminate in the status of Master Pet Stylist, Meritus.

The petstyling/grooming industry bears an intrinsic responsibility to the memory of Murphy & Binky & Phoebe & Toby & to all of the innocent pets entrusted to our care to ensure that our impeccable professional conduct is so beyond reproach as to leave no uncertainty that our pet clients will be returned safely to their owner’s embrace.

Copyright 2007 Find A Groomer Inc. All rights reserved