Are You Putting Your Pooch in Peril?

Aug. 3, 2006 — -- When Kimberly Clark's two Yorkshire terriers, Daisy and Trooper, were dropped off for a shampoo and blow-dry at the local dog salon in Clinton, Conn., Clark never thought they'd be at risk.

But hours later, Daisy was dead, and Clark found herself frantically racing to the vet's office where Trooper had been taken for emergency treatment.

"I could smell his skin burning when I got there," she recalls. The dog's pupils were dilating, and his kidneys had failed, she said. The vet put him to sleep the next day.

Clark still doesn't know exactly what happened, but she suspects a malfunctioning dryer cage.

"I can't let go of this," she says, adding that her dogs were like children to her.

While the number of pet owners for whom routine grooming visits end in tragedy is relatively low, anecdotal evidence suggests that complaints -- ranging from cuts and burns to more serious cases like Clark's -- are on the rise.

In some ways, it's hardly surprising, since Americans are lavishing more and more services on their pets. Among baby boomers confronting empty nests, or young professionals who have delayed having children, there seems to be no limit to what they'll spend on Fido. Sixty-three percent of all U.S. households today include a pet, according to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association (APPMA) -- and last year, Americans spent $2.5 billion on grooming and boarding services alone. This year, the group projects that number will rise to $2.7 billion.

But the corresponding boom in pet salon businesses rising to meet that demand has led to new questions about an industry that experts say is poorly regulated, if at all.

"There are no standards," says Bob Vetere, APPMA president. For the most part, he says, groomers are "reputable, well-meaning people," and most can be trusted. Two big national chains -- Petco and Petsmart -- have recently added salons to their stores. But there's nothing to prevent any individual who thinks they have a talent for sprucing up dogs from going into business.