At least 47 dogs died after grooming at PetSmart

NEW JERSEY (KRON / AP) – A new survey raises questions about dog safety at PetSmart.

NJ Advance Media's nine-month review found 47 dog deaths shortly after routine grooming – sometimes just a 15-minute cut.

In a long response, the channel insists that it has "the highest safety standards in the industry," but has also announced that it is deploying improvements in training and supervision.

The survey has documented 47 deaths in 14 states since 2008, with Pennsylvania having the largest number to nine. Two points:

• English Bulldogs and similar breeds, known to have difficulty breathing, accounted for 20 of 47 deaths. The chain says that these breeds can now only have "express" care that limits the time spent by the dog in the living room.
• Most of the deaths – 32 years – occurred after 2015, the year when PetSmart was acquired by private equity firm BC Partners for $ 8.7 billion.

NJ.com stated that its count is based on reports from PetSmart customers in 14 states and stated that it was not definitive because few public accounts reported such deaths and no state requires that all groomers be fired.

PetSmart makes millions of groomings a year, so the deaths cited represent only a tiny fraction of the pets he works with.

And due to a lack of data, NJ.com said it was impossible to determine whether the death rate during or immediately after grooming at PetSmart was higher or lower than that of other groomers.

PetSmart, which has more than 1,600 stores in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico, will not disclose the number of deaths of which it is aware. But he said that "any claim that there is a systemic problem is false and fabricated".

"At PetSmart, nothing is more important than the safety of the pets under our care," said their release. "That's why we have set the highest safety standards in the industry."

NJ.com investigated how many dogs died during or shortly after Scruffles grooming in December, a British bulldog taken care of at a PetSmart in Flemington, New Jersey. The case has aroused great interest on social media.

During the press review, PetSmart announced that it would improve dog selection before grooming, install cameras in grooming areas, and revise its training procedures. The company also announced plans to hold an open house every grooming salon on Sunday.

NJ.com stated that it could not determine, if any, what connection there was between grooming and the dog's death. He also could not determine whether the timing of one of the deaths was a coincidence.

Animals that died represented at least 25 breeds. But the news agency found that many of them were brachycephalic dogs, short-nosed dogs and flat faces prone to breathing problems, especially in hot or stressful situations.

The press organization said Thursday in its report that the causes of death could be hard to prove. He also stated that the non-disclosure agreements in some of the deaths led to a lack of transparency, as well as confidentiality agreements signed when pet owners grieved their cases in court and reached to a regulation.

The company keeps millions of loyal customers. Sue Conti, 69, of Carteret, NJ, said that Gizmo – a small Maltese, who is about 15 years old – has been prepared all his life at the Woodbridge PetSmart. She said that she has always been "very satisfied".

That was not the case for Nick Pomilio, 72, of Philadelphia, who said he took his English bulldog, Capone, to PetSmart in February 2017. When Capone emerged, Pomilio told nj.com that he could not walk loaded the dog in a basket and drove to the car. Pomilio said that he started driving home but turned around less than five minutes later when he realized the dog had stopped breathing.

He ran to the store to ask for help, he said, but it was too late – Capone was dead.

Groomers and veterinarians say that grooming can present a number of dangers to dogs if safety measures are not followed.

They include overheating – sometimes the result of drying cages – intense stress and rough handling.

There has been little research on the subject, however, a Brazilian study documented 94 dogs killed during grooming, bathing and other pet services from 2004 to 2009.

Deaths of dogs during grooming are rare, NJ.com Perry Habecker, a pathologist at the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, told NJ.com.

"But if you talk to groomers," he said, "it's the biggest fear in their midst".

Click to read the complete survey or chain response.