This owner is pretty nice. We've been grooming her Lhasa for 3 years and we've never had any problems. The haircuts started out a 0 comb length, with the owner requesting a shorter and shorter haircut so we went to a 5F then for the last year we've been using a 7F. In January the dog came in and got the usual haircut. She called a few days later and said that the dog was irritated in the sanitary area. Told her that it might be clipper burn. We use the Bravura on the 10 setting for sanitary trims and we always disinfect and clean the blades. The blades are never hot since we only use them for at most 1 minute at a time. It might have occurred because the dog's skin might have been more sensitive since it had been freezing cold recently. Anyway, she said that the dog was licking at the area. I advised her to construct a cone to keep him from getting to the area. Advised her to apply aloe to the area and to keep me informed.
She called a week later saying that she brought the dog to the vet. So she called and ultimately she wants me to pay for the vet bill. She took the dog in as an emergency which made the vet bill even higher. It was $190. I asked her for the vet info and told her I would speak with the vet first and then call her back.
I spoke with the vet and she agreed that clipper burns can be fluke things. You can groom a dog 100 times and nothing happens and on the 101st time, they get sensitive. She also said it's not something that can be prevented 100%. She said that it looked like the dog had been going at the area for a while so that was why the injuries were worse. I don't think the owner followed my advice about keeping the dog from licking the area. The vet put a cone on the dog and prescribed some ointment. The vet said she didn't think it was our fault nor was it something that we could have prevented because there are so many factors. In all likelihood, clipper burns usually heal within a few days. They usually only become a problem if the dog starts doing things that cause additional irritation, like licking, biting and scratching. Other factors, was there carpeting at home that the dog was laying on that made the irritation worse? The dog wasn't neutered, so was the dog humping and that caused additional irritation around that area?
I called the owner and told her what the vet said. I didn't want to lose her as a customer so I offered her a grooming credit of $80. I also told her that we would put it in the pet's notes that we should never take the dog shorter than a 5F. She refused it and was adamant about having the whole bill being paid. She also blamed us for not ever telling her that her dog was being shaved and that this was probably why the dog was sensitive. This just boggles me because she kept asking for a shorter and shorter haircut until the dog had been getting the 7F haircut for a year. It's not unusual for owners to ask for a short haircut with a 7F so how are we supposed to know that we should warn her about it? If she had asked for a 40, 30 or even 10 blade I might have cautioned her against going so short but in our shop, a 7F isn't considered dangerously short.
Prior to calling her, I pondered very long about whether I could or should reimburse her for the vet bill. But I just feel like I can't since we didn't do anything out of the ordinary and we weren't negligent. She said that she would go to small claims court to get her money. I told her I was sorry that she felt she had to do that and that I wish she would reconsider our offer. And that was how it ended.
What are you thoughts on this situation?
She called a week later saying that she brought the dog to the vet. So she called and ultimately she wants me to pay for the vet bill. She took the dog in as an emergency which made the vet bill even higher. It was $190. I asked her for the vet info and told her I would speak with the vet first and then call her back.
I spoke with the vet and she agreed that clipper burns can be fluke things. You can groom a dog 100 times and nothing happens and on the 101st time, they get sensitive. She also said it's not something that can be prevented 100%. She said that it looked like the dog had been going at the area for a while so that was why the injuries were worse. I don't think the owner followed my advice about keeping the dog from licking the area. The vet put a cone on the dog and prescribed some ointment. The vet said she didn't think it was our fault nor was it something that we could have prevented because there are so many factors. In all likelihood, clipper burns usually heal within a few days. They usually only become a problem if the dog starts doing things that cause additional irritation, like licking, biting and scratching. Other factors, was there carpeting at home that the dog was laying on that made the irritation worse? The dog wasn't neutered, so was the dog humping and that caused additional irritation around that area?
I called the owner and told her what the vet said. I didn't want to lose her as a customer so I offered her a grooming credit of $80. I also told her that we would put it in the pet's notes that we should never take the dog shorter than a 5F. She refused it and was adamant about having the whole bill being paid. She also blamed us for not ever telling her that her dog was being shaved and that this was probably why the dog was sensitive. This just boggles me because she kept asking for a shorter and shorter haircut until the dog had been getting the 7F haircut for a year. It's not unusual for owners to ask for a short haircut with a 7F so how are we supposed to know that we should warn her about it? If she had asked for a 40, 30 or even 10 blade I might have cautioned her against going so short but in our shop, a 7F isn't considered dangerously short.
Prior to calling her, I pondered very long about whether I could or should reimburse her for the vet bill. But I just feel like I can't since we didn't do anything out of the ordinary and we weren't negligent. She said that she would go to small claims court to get her money. I told her I was sorry that she felt she had to do that and that I wish she would reconsider our offer. And that was how it ended.
What are you thoughts on this situation?
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