1. On her site, JoAnn claims to be "highly trained, licensed and insured". I have (had) a show quality Bernese Mountain Dog - pick of litter, my 8th - and, unfortunately, JoAnn decided the hair around his ears/neck was "matted", so she cut it off. IF this had been minimal and done with great care, it MIGHT have been OK - I don't know - but when I picked him up, it looked like he'd been trimmed using a lawn mower or garden hedge trimmer. "Uneven" to the point of looking "random" and "ragged.' But ESPECIALLY weird since I'd booked the service she offers known as "Bath, Large Dog, No Hair Cutting."
-The hair, btw, wasn't "matted." I brush him EVERY day and what they (being "highly trained, licensed and insured") saw as matting was actually just the result of 5 min., on the 1.2 mile ride from my home to JoAnn's Ruff Cuts, rubbing his ears on the carpet in the back of my Escalade b/c they itched. With ear drops, he was over this in a few days. Highly trained or not, "Fibi", the groomer, had mistook damp hair for matting. This gross error in professional judgement took my Berner from "show quality" to "pet quality."
-All Berners must have all fur exactly the same as all other Berners or face disqualification. I can still breed him (with explanation), but I'll never be able to show him. He was just getting over a puppy-hood ear infection, so there was more wax/oil in the fur in that area than usual.
-I'd been brushing the "matt" out using a $3.99 Petco slicker, 5 to 10 seconds/ear. Couldn't be easier. They should have either brushed it out as I'd been doing at home, or left it alone b/c it has never grown back and, being so short, is difficult to brush.
2. I've asked JoAnn for a point of contact at her insurance carrier, but no response so far.
post script: Also on that disastrous visit, I saw JoAnn, Fibi/Emma stuff him into a wire kennel. Negligently, they closed his front foot firmly, tightly and painfully in a cage so that he made cries of pain - wailing - such as I've never heard from ANY animal. Horrible! When the cries/howling started, none of the staff moved a muscle, causing me to have to rush around the counter & into their work spaces to rescue him as any other Bernese owner would have done. (I believe that animal neglect or abuse like that is chargeable as a misdemeanor under city regulations, but I haven't really looked into it.)
In any case, AVOID! read more