Pomeranian's paw suffers deep cut after grooming at Pet Lovers Centre Jalan Leban outlet

In order to look sharp for Christmas, Yoghurt, a dog in Singapore, got sent to the groomer's for a haircut.

Unfortunately, a slip of the groomer's hand left the dog with a wound on his paw.

Speaking to Mothership, Yoghurt's owner, surnamed Lim, said he'd dropped the dog off at a Pet Lovers Centre outlet in Jalan Leban at around 11am on Christmas Eve.

When he circled back later that day to pick up Yoghurt, he noticed the one-year-old Pomeranian limping.

Alarm bells started to go off in Lim's head.

Bleeding paw

When Lim took Yoghurt into his arms, his fears were confirmed when he spotted blood stains on the sleeve of his shirt where he carried the dog.

A closer inspection of the Pomeranian revealed a gash on his paw pad.

The injury came unexpected, as Lim had brought Yoghurt to the same groomer about three times by then with no issues.

This time, Yoghurt's paw had been "almost cut into two", said Lim.

He described the wound to be "very deep and bleeding actively".

"The groomer then brushed me off by telling me that the paw would heal on its own....No apology was given," he said.

In response to Mothership's queries, Pet Lovers Centre stated that the groomer involved had immediately administered first aid and applied medication to the injured paw.

"The customer was informed about the incident upon collection of the dog, and the groomer expressed sincere apologies, offering to accompany the owner to the vet clinic to attend to the dog’s injury."

Yoghurt was not feeling the Christmas spirit

When Lim rushed Yoghurt to a nearby veterinary clinic, he was advised by the vet to dress his dog's wound daily.

"Dog paws cannot be stitched," Lim said.

Should the wound fail to recover, Yoghurt will need to undergo a surgery with general anaesthesia to remove the injured portion of his paw pad.

The ordeal has left Yoghurt "severely traumatised".

His owner noted that the dog has been in "low spirits", growling and barking randomly "as he is in pain".

"He has also become very guarded and sleeps a lot," reported Lim.

The incident left not just Yoghurt in an apparent bad mood, but also his owner.

Lim termed the incident a pet owner's "biggest nightmare", made worse by the shop's supposed "lack of service recovery".

"I only managed to get their attention when I contacted their hotline...They even charged me a surcharge for the grooming session as it was during Christmas," he said incredulously.

Yoghurt's grooming cost S$101.20, while his vet bill amounted to S$414.70.

Full refund & groomer no longer with Pet Lovers Centre

Lim said he later received a full refund for Yoghurt's grooming, but only after he "told [the staff] off".

This refund was confirmed by Pet Lovers Centre.

The pet store chain explained that the case had been escalated to the customer service team as part of their standard protocol to "ensure proper documentation and resolution". They apologised if the escalation process "caused any misunderstanding".

As for the vet bill, Pet Lovers Centre assured that they are currently processing the reimbursement and will be covering any additional vet expenses for Yoghurt's follow-up care.

They also offered Lim a S$50 gift voucher for pet supplies.

Following a review of the incident report and CCTV footage, Pet Lovers Centre determined that Yoghurt's injury had been an "unfortunate accident and not a deliberate act".

Nevertheless, the groomer is no longer employed with the company as "part of [their] commitment to maintain the highest standards of pet care and service", Pet Lovers Centre told Mothership.

"PLC remains committed to learning from this incident. We are implementing additional training and reviews of our grooming processes to prevent similar incidents in the future. The trust of our customers and the welfare of their pets are responsibilities we take very seriously."

Yoghurt's current condition

When Mothership checked in on the dog on Dec. 31, Lim shared photographs of his dog's road to recovery.

He shared that Yoghurt was still nursing his swollen paw and having trouble stomaching his food.

But he is "feeling better now", Lim assured.

Top images from Lim