Dog owner claims groomer sliced pet's nipple and superglued it back together

Tegan Williams

Warning: This story contains distressing images

A woman has claimed her dog’s nipple was cut and superglued back together by a groomer.

Tegan Williams, 20, took her two-year-old toy poodle and bichon frisé cross Honey to Scruffy 2 Fluffy groomers in Bargoed, Caerphilly county, on 15 June – her fourth appointment at the business.

But later that day, Tegan said she noticed a series of injuries on her pet’s body, and claims a £385 emergency vet appointment found “some sort of superglue” had been used to repair a wounded nipple.

“She’s still shaking to this day now,” she said.

Paul Smith, who owns Scruffy 2 Fluffy, described the incident as “an accident” and said he had taken appropriate action immediately.

Tegan said Honey was a “regular client” at Scruffy 2 Fluffy.

“That was her fourth groom since she was a puppy. There’s never been any issues at all,” she said.

Tegan explained the grooming firm picked Honey up from her home in Fochriw and dropped her back off.

She said when Paul dropped Honey off he told her she was “very matted” which she found odd, adding she had been brushed that morning and is brushed “every day”.

Tegan Williams

Tegan said she had workmen in her house at the time which Honey did not like, so secured her in the kitchen and did not inspect her properly until later.

She said: “When they left, I brought her back out to be in the living room as she normally is, and I noticed that she had blood in her right eye.

“As I examined more of her body, I noticed that she had a cut on the back of her right leg.”

Tegan then checked Honey’s tummy and noticed one nipple was “really hard” and she was “quite sensitive” when her owner touched her.

She rang the out-of-hours vet and was told to take Honey to Swansea for an emergency appointment, which cost about £385.

The money had to be taken from a fund saved for rent and her daughter’s upcoming third birthday, Tegan said.

“I was so upset, I was panicking, I was scared.”

The mother-of-two added she told her son and daughter Honey “was going to the doggy hospital”.

“They are under five, so I had to try and say it in a way that wouldn’t scare them.”

Tegan said the vet gave her drops for Honey’s eye, which they thought had been damaged by a blow to the head or other trauma, and was not concerned about the cut on the leg as they believed it would heal itself.

But she claimed the vet told her Honey’s nipple had been wounded and “superglued” – and she would have to take her back to the vets when the glue starts coming off to know the full extent of the damage.

“They didn’t really want to touch the wound, only because it was superglued on so much that, if they had a look, she would be really sore.”

Tegan said she was concerned about possible infection because there was “leaking” from the wound.

“A week later, she’s still really nervous. I felt guilty, because I chose for her to go to this particular groomer,” she said.

Tegan Williams

Tegan contacted the groomers after the trip to the vets but, while they reimbursed her vet fees, she claimed they had not offered an apology or explanation.

She also reported Scruffy 2 Fluffy to Trading Standards at Caerphilly council, which confirmed it was “aware of the allegations and currently investigating them” but said it could not comment further on an ongoing investigation.

Paul Smith, who owns Scruffy 2 Fluffy, said he rented out its tables to groomers.

He said he only learned about the injuries when Tegan complained, adding he apologised to Tegan and her partner.

“The issue was brought up to me the next day and I immediately acted,” he said, adding he told the groomer they were “not welcome back here”.

“I paid for the vet straight away without question, because I don’t feel that they should have been in that position.”

He added the industry was unregulated in the UK but he expected groomers working at his shop to have their own insurance. He added the groomer had been “too embarrassed to mention” the incident.

“It was an accident, and it happened. That [groomer] didn’t go out of [their] way to do anything.”

Tegan said she could not “imagine” another pet owner having to go through the same thing, and wanted to warn others.

“I don’t think I’ll ever trust a dog groomer now, to be honest.”