Groomer injured our dog

the_leveller

My wife's daughters thought it would be nice to get our dogs groomed as a surprise for us while we were on holiday. They contacted a local firm who came round in their mobile grooming salon (van), groomed the dogs (incredibly badly in my opinion but that's another story) and then, according to the girls, couldn't get away quick enough. A short while later it became apparent why the quick getaway was required when it was found that one of the dogs had suffered a large cut under her ear which required emergency treatment and several staples to reattach her ear. When the girls contacted the groomer, he said that he wasn't aware of any damage as he hadn't seen any blood but said that he would cover all the vets fees. Then, a female rang the girls claiming to be the owner of the firm and stated that they would not be paying anything towards the costs as there was nothing wrong with the dog when the groomer left. My question is this; since there is no governing body for dog grooming and it is unregulated, who do we contact to pursue this case? Do we speak to the RSPCA, solicitors, local press, trading standards...? All suggestions gratefully received, thanks.

pawsies

local press will likely attract most attention.

trading standards may be interested, rspca probably not, solicitiors will just turn out expensive for you.

moggymutt

I would guess trading standards, would be interesting to know if the dog groomers have any insurance. I'd think about reporting them to Inland Revenue, if they are not a legit business with insurance etc, they probably aren't paying what tax they should. It's totally disgusting, since they didn't even acknowledge it at the time they are as bad as a tug who kicks a dog for the hell of it. Hope doggie is okay.
Small claims court.

lemontart

surely the groomers should have some sort of liability insurance as a business - check this out if so lodge a claim against them.

lemontart

and judge rinder is looking for new cases for new series too

marlot

As a dog is regarded as property under law, it should be easy to raise a money claim online summons against them

Marktheshark

Find who you contracted and what type of business they are.
Limited Company ?
Sole trader ?

This is VERY important.
Find this quickly, do not get distracted and I will advise what to do next.

heartbreak_star

Poor little fuzzy. Hope they're OK now!

HBS x

jools002

Hi, I'm sorry to hear this has happened to your dog. I've just started a (very expensive!) City and Guilds dog grooming course in order to become professionally qualified, sadly though this is not a requirement and the industry is not currently regulated (although it is rumoured to become so). Your groomer should (I would hope!) be insured to cover any injury caused to your dog whilst in their care. You could try contacting the Pet Industry Federation for advice as they are the closest thing to a regulatory body as far as I'm aware. Do you know the name of the groomer? Do they have a website?

Tua

In addition to the good advice from other members ... just a thought: perhaps you could ask your vet to confirm details of the injury, eg: he/she might be able to determine whether it was a cut caused by some sort of implement rather than an 'accidental injury'? (Might be handy info to have, if the groomer's insurance company insisted upon challenging your claim).

Tiddlywinks

How old are your children? Are they 18+? That will be relevant to how you proceed as the contract was between them and the groomer.