Pet dog ’strangled during trim’

pet dog ’strangled during trim’


A dog was strangled while staff at a Shropshire grooming parlour battled to keep him under control during a routine trim, a court heard today.

Pamela White, 63, and Rebecca Haire, 20, were attempting to groom a Shih Tzu dog belonging to Alison King at Clippers and Dippers salon in Donnington Wood, Telford, when the tragedy occurred. Telford magistrates heard the pair were “deeply remorseful”.

Both were animal lovers with extensive experience grooming dogs.

The court heard the dog, called Rosco, became aggressive, started flipping over on the table and was “panting excessively” as the pair used two harnesses and their hands to try and hold him down.

Mr Roger Price, prosecuting for the RSPCA, said the dog suddenly collapsed and attempts to revive him proved futile.

He said: “This is a case where the offence involves unnecessary suffering. It is more unnecessary when very early on in the process this dog was showing clear signs of distress but they persevered for a significant amount of time.

Pamela White“It should have been obvious to any humane person that to have persevered would cause the dog unnecessary suffering.”

Two post-mortems revealed the dog died from a cardiac arrest after being strangled on August 18 last year.

White, of Queens Road, Donnington, Telford, and Haire, of Southfield, Sutton Hill, Telford, both admitted causing unnecessary suffering by unreasonably restraining the dog and blocking its airway.

Mr Julian Tutchener-Ellis, for White and Haire, said it was a “tragic case”, adding: “Miss Haire is deeply remorseful and Mrs White has worked for 19 years as a volunteer at the Telford dog pound.”

Presiding magistrate Mrs Sue Roberts sentenced the pair to 18-month conditional discharges. White and Haire were also ordered to pay £198 each in compensation to Mrs King and £500 each to the RSPCA as a contribution to costs.

After the case, Mrs King, of Little Dawley, said: “I’m glad they can go home and give their dogs a hug, because I can’t. My family is just devastated.”

By Jason Lavan

why didn't they just ring the owner and tell her they couldn't do it as the dog was too stressed???

I don't get why they carried on if the dog was as bad as they say. Poor little guy.

That is so sad, but surely an experienced dog groomer would realise the dog is too stresses to just carry on... I know if I am clipping my boys, if they have had enough I just stop. I feel so sorry for the owners

Dreadful. Poor dog and poor family. They should've stopped the groom if the dog was that stressed and badly behaved. They shouldn't have carried on.

In extreme cases, where the dog really hates being groomed but needs to be, then herbal remedies and such like may help. It isn't nice to see a dog who isn't happy being groomed.

I am in no way condoning this, it shouldn't have been allowed to happen, but you get so many people who buy/rescue full coated dogs (such as Lhasa Apsos and Bichons) that require a substantial amount of work to stop them becoming matted and knotted - even if the coats are clipped short - and some owners don't seem to realise how important it is to condition the dog to be able to groomed by themselves and a professional groomer from the very start as the dogs will have so many more years of regular and substantial grooming ahead of them. I'm not saying this was the case here, but perhaps it was.

Professional groomers must see so many cases on a regular of what is essentially neglect and laziness, as they won't or can't be bothered to regularly groom their dogs. If you keep on top of it, and do little and often, the dog should become more used to be groomed and handled and would make life a lot easier for the groomer and the dogs themselves, which is most important.

It's so sad to see dogs coming in to be groomed in such a state. Just recently (last Saturday) I seen a case of a Lhasa which was matted to the skin, including the skin, and nails which were curled and pressing againt the dog's toes. It was nice to see and this dog had to be clipped in short. Luckily, the dog was calm and well behaved, although it was probably depressed and didn't feel very well because of the condition he was in!

Many groomers will offer to help the dogs and owners by taking the dog in regularly for just a face trim, or it's nails trimmed etc, just to try and get the dog used to be groomed. I wish more people would do this.

I agree with Westie_N, when people take on these coated breeds they should also take on the responsibility of looking after the coat. When we were involved with afghan rescue many years ago the work involved with maintaining the coat was often the reason people didn't want their dog anymore.

Puppies should be trained right from the start to accept grooming as a gradual process not wait until there is a problem. I don't know if the owner of the poor dog had it from a puppy but if she did she should accept some of the responsibility imo.

RIP poor dog, a truly horrible way to die.

Terrible, sounds to me like he was collared on one of those attachments they have on grooming tables that keep the dog in place? if he had flipped himself over and the groomers were trying to upright him? and the dog was being aggressive because it was frightened about its neck being caught?, they may have been trying to release the line around his neck? my first reaction would be to cut it to release the pressure, but people react differently under stress, poor dog what a way to go, and my heart goes out to the owners.

Mo

So sad and upsetting.

My sympathies to the owners and RIP sweetheart

very sad story,

RIP little one

the rspca where compensated more than the owner. not that any amount of money would bring her poor dog back..but a £1000,00 to them and less than £200.00 to the owner?????

I meant including the ears. Sorry.