KATY, Texas (CBS) — A groomer at a PetSmart in Katy has been fired after a video of her mishandling a small dog went viral.
The video shows the groomer jerking the dog’s head around as she clipped it, then pulling its ear.
Terah Leder, a customer, was furious when she saw what was happening so she grabbed her cell phone.
“I was getting upset and I wanted to have proof, so I could take action and show somebody that this is happening,” said Leder.
When Brooke Vowers went to the PetSmart at Katy Freeway Thursday (Feb. 1) to pick up her dog, Leder approached her and said she had video of little Boo being abused by the groomer.
“She sent me this video and I am sick to my stock about it and will not be going back,” Vowers later posted on Facebook Thursday.
By Friday (Fed. 2) afternoon, the video had more than 370,000 views and more than 17,000 shares.
PetSmart learned about the video Thursday night and fired the groomer.
“We took swift action once seeing the video and that associate has since been terminated,” said Miguel Rodriguez a District Leader for PetSmart.
Rodriguez says PetSmart groomers go through 800 hours of training and they also must meet annual safety certifications.
“Obviously, looking at the video, you can see, that’s not the standards of how we treat pets in our care,” said Rodriguez. “We love every pet that comes through this door.”
