Okay, so I am in my last 3 weeks of grooming school right now. Today I was shaving a cat and was entirely done except about a square inch on the back hind leg. Well, the cat moved and the clipper sliced that thin skin layer wide open. The cut was about an inch and a half long and I could see right in the cats leg. I called to the instructor that the cats vet should be called right away, then went into the bathroom to stop myself from bursting into tears in front of everyone. I came out a minute or two later and found the instructor still shaving on the cat!! I told her to just stop and the vet can do it and her response was, in a super stern/pee'd off voice "just go take a break." I then grabbed my things and walked out.
Now, I suppose you need a little more background on how things are run there. Very recent examples...
A few weeks ago a cat was brought in to be groomed that was a recently adopted stray. The cat was hissing and growing in it's kennel. They took it out and put a muzzle and an e-collar on it. The cat was still hissing and growling and throwing itself around so 2 people held the cat down, while a scared new student was being yelled at to cut the nails fast. The cat got it's muzzle off and bit the new student sending her to the hospital. Animal control was called on this "vicious" cat, etc. sending the cat into potential quarantine. [My opinion is that the cat was overly stressed from being in a shelter, a new home, a vet and a groomer all within 3-4 weeks. If you put a blindfold on me and threw me down I'd fight back too, ya know?]
A day or two after that incident a dog was brought in that needed to be muzzled, was fighting the groomers, and stressing out so bad he was urinating every where and his tongue was turning blue. They pushed that dog so far insisting that he be completely groomed (bath, trimmed, nails, ears, etc.) that the dog dropped on the table and needed CPR!! To make it worse they didn't even tell the owners when they picked their dog up.
Today, with the cat, is it just me or should we have stopped and sent it to the vet immediately?? I realize that bit of hair would need to be shaved for stitches, but shouldn't the vet do that in sanitary conditions with sterilized tools?
I'm just so tired of watching them push things way too far. I'd never send my pets to a groomer if I had known they were like that. I feel really really terrible for hurting that cat, but I'm so so so angry at the way they handled it. I just don't know if I'm overreacting or what.
Now, I suppose you need a little more background on how things are run there. Very recent examples...
A few weeks ago a cat was brought in to be groomed that was a recently adopted stray. The cat was hissing and growing in it's kennel. They took it out and put a muzzle and an e-collar on it. The cat was still hissing and growling and throwing itself around so 2 people held the cat down, while a scared new student was being yelled at to cut the nails fast. The cat got it's muzzle off and bit the new student sending her to the hospital. Animal control was called on this "vicious" cat, etc. sending the cat into potential quarantine. [My opinion is that the cat was overly stressed from being in a shelter, a new home, a vet and a groomer all within 3-4 weeks. If you put a blindfold on me and threw me down I'd fight back too, ya know?]
A day or two after that incident a dog was brought in that needed to be muzzled, was fighting the groomers, and stressing out so bad he was urinating every where and his tongue was turning blue. They pushed that dog so far insisting that he be completely groomed (bath, trimmed, nails, ears, etc.) that the dog dropped on the table and needed CPR!! To make it worse they didn't even tell the owners when they picked their dog up.
Today, with the cat, is it just me or should we have stopped and sent it to the vet immediately?? I realize that bit of hair would need to be shaved for stitches, but shouldn't the vet do that in sanitary conditions with sterilized tools?
I'm just so tired of watching them push things way too far. I'd never send my pets to a groomer if I had known they were like that. I feel really really terrible for hurting that cat, but I'm so so so angry at the way they handled it. I just don't know if I'm overreacting or what.