Woman calls for new law after dog left with deep cut

A horrified dog owner whose pet came home from the groomers with a deep cut across his body is calling for the industry to be regulated. Maria Stableford's two-year-old Pomeranian Tim was having his fur trimmed when he was slashed because he was cut with clippers that are meant for a bigger dog.

The dog was left 'traumatised' after the incident, which should have cost £250, and he had to be rushed to the vets so they could check over the horrific three-inch gash. Maria, 53, is now calling for the industry to be more regulated and for people who work in the industry to be awarded a charter mark.

She said: "If tomorrow I set up a Facebook page from a shed in my back garden, I could be a dog groomer without any repercussions. I find that really concerning.

"There is currently no way of checking whether anybody has any recognised qualifications. I have suggested a charter mark so qualified groomers can show that they have groomed a variety of dogs over a period of time, then the regulatory body could award a charter mark.

"That would weed out the bad groomers, who could be dealt with if they set up when they are unqualified."

Maria says she booked Tim into a different place to where he normally goes, because their normal groomer couldn't fit him in. But after he was there for an hour, she was asked to come and take her pet to the vets which left her 'completely shocked.'

Maria said: "We dropped Tim off and then we got a phone call an hour later, saying we needed to get to her quickly as we had to take him to the vets. My heart just dropped because we've had dogs for over 30 years and nobody has ever called us for something like that.

"We got to the salon and Tim was completely shaken and traumatised. One of the reasons we got Tim was because he's a very calming nature and he's an absolute doddle to groom for our usual groomer.

"We were completely shocked."

Maria then rushed Tim to the vets to be checked over, where she had to spend around £205 to have him bandaged up. She said: "Tim is a really happy dog, so he normally dances when he goes into the vets and obviously he didn't.

"When they saw him, they were horrified and said it should have never happened. You could tell they were shocked by the look on their faces, but obviously they had to remain fairly neutral.

"They said it was awful though."

You can support the petition here: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/660782