As Immediate Past President of the Chatsworth/Porter Ranch Chamber of Commerce, I make it a point to support and use local businesses as much as I can. It pains me to have to write this review for a local business, but I feel it's my duty to warn others so this won't happen again.
When my regular groomer was booked, I sought out another groomer in my area as my poor pup was in dire need of a haircut with the warmer days coming.
I found iTouch and was pleased to see they had such good reviews (surprising, actually). So I took my almost 2 year old pup to them. Cathy, the owner, was nice initially. Let me start by saying she did NOT go over the services they would perform on my dog. I asked for a regular grooming. I've always had dogs and normally when you take them to a new groomer, they go over the services with you. My fault for not asking, but I assumed it would be the "regular" grooming he normally gets. And, my dog has NEVER had a bad reaction or any problems with our regular mobile groomer.
When I took my dog in, he was 100% healthy and happy - he's normally a VERY happy, animated dog. When I picked him up and took him home, he was depressed, lethargic, and a few hours later he started violently shaking his head. Worried, I contacted Cathy and asked what they did to his ears and what could be causing this. She said, and I quote, "I just cleaned his ears...". Then she said "Maybe water inside when we gave him a bath. He doesn't have a problem with us." And I have to mention, they cut him MUCH shorter than she showed me they would. At least that will grow back.
Fast forward to the next day. He's still shaking his head, not eating, and throwing up. And very lethargic. I suspected an ear infection. I contacted Cathy again to give her an update and that I will probably take him to the vet the next day. Then her tune changed: She then said her groomer did it (originally she said "I" cleaned his ears, and tried to tell me that my dog was shaking his head when he got there). An outright lie. If he was shaking his head so much when he got there and while they were grooming him, shouldn't she have told me this when I picked him up? Yes, but not if she was lying, which she was. Another reviewer on here mentioned Cathy told her her dog had a mild ear infection. So, why didn't Cathy say anything to me about my dog who she said was shaking his head during grooming?
Took him to the vet the following Monday. He has horrible ear infections (in both ears) and nicks in his ears from where they most likely plucked his ears. I asked my Vet if this could happen so quickly after being groomed, and he said yes. And, he said it's never a good idea to clean their ears, or pluck them.
So now we have to give my poor dog meds for 2 weeks, and he's still shaking his head and uncomfortable. I lost sleep because he is my baby and I felt extremely guilty for taking him to iTouch and not waiting for my regular groomer to be available. And now, he's also scratching himself wildly and hair is coming out, so I may need to make another trip to the Vet. I have no idea what they did to my poor dog. :(
Attaching a pic of his ear. The pic doesn't even do the damage justice.
Cathy did reimburse for the Vet bills, but never owned up to their mistake/negligence. She said she would reimburse for the grooming though, which she didn't. I hope she learns from this, and I have to wonder how many other dogs they have/will hurt. read more