Dog Suffers from PetSmart Grooming Injury While Employees ‘Shop Around for Cheapest Vet’

When a dog suffered a severe cut to his nose during a grooming appointment at PetSmart, the dog’s owner alleges that employees let her dog suffer, bleeding and in pain, while they shopped from vet to vet looking for the least expensive treatment option.

On July 30, Victoria Lawhorne had dropped her dog Osito off to be groomed at the PetSmart on Jefferson Davis Highway in Chester, Virginia. Later, she received the phone call we all dread, Osito was injured and needed to be taken to a veterinarian for treatment.

“They called me and said my dog was rushed to the vet because he had got cut,” Lawhorne told WTVR, “They said he was moving a tiny bit too much and accidentally cut his nose.”

So, Lawhorne rushed to the Banfield Pet Hospital attached to the Colonial Heights PetSmart store and just steps away from the grooming center where Osito had been injured. When she arrived, she said the employees told her that “because they charge an arm and a leg here, we’re going to go to another vet and see what they say.”

Instead of being treated on-site, Osito was transported to Animal Medical Center in Midlothian, a 30-minute drive north of the Banfield Pet Hospital in Colonial Heights.

“My dog is hurt you should have taken him to the first vet you could have taken him to no matter what the price is,” Lawthorne told the news station. “You guys injured him so you guys should be responsible to pay and get him fixed as soon as possible not wait four or five hours to figure out what vet you are going to take him to… From 4:30 til about 10:30 – 11 o’clock my dog was in the vet because they decided to shop from vet to vet because one was more expensive than the other that shouldn’t have happened.”

Osito was sedated and surgical glue was used to close the wound to his nose. Lawhorne said PetSmart paid the veterinary bill and offered her a $50 gift card, which she refused.

“It’s more than an inconvenience, my dog was in pain, suffering, he wasn’t eating and I don’t think just a $50.00 gift card could be okay,” she said. “You guys haven’t checked on him you guys won’t respond to any of calls or anything regarding the incident. You’re hurting somebody’s family. A dog’s pain and suffering at least care a little more than what they are doing.”

A PetSmart, a spokesperson gave the following statement regarding the incident:

“Osito’s nose was accidentally cut during a groom, and he was immediately taken to a local pet hospital by our associate where he was transferred to an emergency veterinarian to receive prompt treatment. The welfare of Osito was our top priority, and treatment costs were not a factor in how we sought care for him. PetSmart has reached out to the pet parent multiple times to check on Osito and offer continued support, but to date, the pet parent has not returned any calls. we are sorry this accident occurred, and we wish Osito a speedy recovery.”

Lawhorne continues to assert that PetSmart has not reached out to her.