Dogs Have Bad Hair Days Too!

I’ve had bad haircuts. One was so bad, I looked like I had ears like a dog! This photo was taken on an especially wild hair day.

bad hair day susielindau

I’ll admit our Bichon, Roxy, had become a shaggy dog. I had the perfect plan. After returning from a vacation at Lake Tahoe, I’d pick her up from the kennel and drive her to the groomer. Little did I know she would come home looking like a rat.

go for a walk

My first clue that something might go awry was when a groomer I’d never seen before dropped to her knees and scanned her entire coat as if searching for fleas.

She told me Roxy would be done at 2:00. I drove home and dug into work after being on vacation for a week. The writing vortex sucked me right in. When I looked at the clock and it read 3:00, I figured the pet grooming business was booming. When it was 4:00, I gave them a call.

“She’s all done!” said the cheerful voice on the line. I happily jumped in the car and drove to Longmont, pleased with my plan. She would be clean, exhausted and would sleep for a week!

I paid the sixty dollars and they promptly brought her from the back room. Only it wasn’t Roxy. This dog was hairless!

Rat dog after the groomer

For some strange reason, the groomer decided her entire coat including her tail was matted, (which wasn’t true) so she scalped her! Those are her freckles you’re seeing.

Dogs have bad hair days too

Roxy reminded me of Dobby from Harry Potter. She shivered at my feet. I grew up with Cockapoos that needed to be sheared twice a year. I swear they became embarrassed after losing their comfortable fur coats. Roxy was no different.

While sitting in the car, I checked her tail The tip had been nipped! Are you kidding me? Talk about insult to injury or in this case, the other way around.

That’s when my daughter texted me. I texted her the top photo. You shouldn’t have to pay for that. Especially since their tails are sensitive! I looked at Roxy’s soulful eyes and stormed back inside.

To say I was pissed would be an understatement. The lady who groomed her had conveniently left for the day. The manager looked Roxy over and offered a full refund.

But what about Roxy?

It has snowed the last two days! She hates wearing a sweater but shivers with the slightest breeze. You can see the veins in her bare naked ears. She needs a hat. And a glove for her skinned tail!

Honestly, the tail. I mean, look at her tail! It’s like a rat tail and it’s pink like her bare ears. It will take a long time before she looks like a normal dog again.

“It’s okay, Roxy. It will grow back.”

It will grow back

So if you have a bad hair day, just remember, you’re not alone. Roxy and I feel you.

Have your pets ever suffered under the hands of someone incompetent? Have you ever suffered under the hands of someone incompetent?

Click for more wild adventures on the Wild Ride!

Related posts:

Dodging Bullets and Creepy Crawlers

Disaster Area in My Rear View a Very Bad Hair Day

Roxy, the Bravest Bichon in the West?

 

108 thoughts on “Dogs Have Bad Hair Days Too!

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    1. I know! Danny checked the credit card statement and can’t find the $60 credit! I’ll have to give them a call. Such a nightmare! And there’s snow on the ground!

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  1. Awwww! I didn’t want to ‘Like’ this post. Poor little Roxy, she looks so sad, it certainly wasn’t to best haircut I’ve ever seen, but thankfully like you said, it will grow back – hopefully soon!

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  2. Poor Roxie. We had a silky terrier who suffered the same fate. She came out looking like a sheared sheep. Like Roxie, she was cold and embarrassed. I got a refund plus the cost of a visit to the vet to treat the small cuts which were everywhere. The place was lucky I am not a violent person. (I guess I was lucky too since what I was thinking of doing would have landed me in jail.)

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    1. Oh, no! Roxy had the one nick on the tip of her tail but nowhere else that I could see. I do believe that dogs get embarrassed. It’s not natural for them to run around hairless!
      Thanks, John!

      Liked by 1 person

  3. Oh No – Poor Roxy 😦

    I recall the time my mom went to her salon to get a perm and something horribly went wrong. They burned her scalp and her hair started falling out. She had to let it be due to the degree of the burn on her scalp. I do not know what was worse – her uncontrolled sobbing or her silence. That was a dark period in our house. I took my dad aside to let him know what happened so he did not insert foot in mouth and set her off even more.

    Here’s to Roxy’s coat coming in sooner than later! Take Care 🙂

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  4. That’s horrid!! Poor Roxy. You need to write a bad review everywhere you possibly can, Google, Yelp, any of them. My mom has a bichon and a groomer got way too close on her fur one time. Poor thing was bright pink.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. That’s a great idea!
      Same thing for Roxy! She would need sunscreen if it were summer. They always leave the hair on the ears and her tail no matter how matted they get. It’s only in the places where the hair rubs together that it becomes like dreadlocks. I get one at the nape of my neck when I wear certain sweaters now that I’ve grown out my hair again! 🙂
      Thanks, Mary!

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  5. Goodness, she looks like the poor critters on Animal Cops who actually *are* matted to heck! Poor Roxy!

    I took Lauren in to get a mat taken out (pudgy puddy has trouble reaching her hips!) and I thought sure they’d be there on a Friday, despite their FB page saying “variable hours”. Take her to town and they’re locked up tight as a drum! (How in the heck they didn’t have a full complement of dogs to do up on a Friday afternoon is a mystery to me.)

    Smartphone to the rescue! I’d forgotten there was a new(ish) place in town and they were willing take a walk-in with a cat, so I scooted on over there. $25 to shave off the mat, brush her out and trim her toenails. They’re also open seven days a week and have set hours. Much better! (She likes to roll around in the driveway when the weather is warm, so we’ll probably be back for a visit in May or June.)

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    1. I’m glad you found a place, Daya!
      Roxy hams it up for the camera, but not since she’s been clipped. Her ears always go down like she’s saying, “Nooooooo! I don’t want any evidence.”

      Liked by 1 person

  6. Never heard of this. Our pups are Cavachons, Their ears, snouts and tails are always neatly groomed and de-matted, but never cut short! That has to be a neophyte groomer on the other end of those shears! Fortunately, Roxy will overcome and be back to the fluffy fur ball that she and you likes. As for your haircut, how is the lawsuit coming along?

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  7. The hair/fur loss is a good sign. Warm weather is on the horizon 🙂 Roxy still looks cute and aren’t all dogs attention seekers? 🙂

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  8. Oh bless her she does look miserable. I’ve never had a dog that needs a haircut, I just have a labrador that malts constantly around the house. Pretty dog 😊

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  9. Aww, hate to hear that happened. I’m sure she felt that nip. She’ll be fine, just don’t give her a mirror! Ha!
    Our first dog was a Cock-a-pooh! Spicy, was her name. Aren’t they great dogs?! So smart. She only matted around her eyes and we were able to cut those with blunt scissors. Maybe she had more Pooh than Cock-a in her?
    Recently our vet ( or the assistants) rough handled our pug while trying to cut his nails. Pugs go WILD when you get near their nails.
    We didn’t ask them to do it, we file them.
    I mean come on, that groomer should have known better and our vet too! Morty’s curly tail was droopy for 7 days! It was sad. Left the Vet, of course.
    Sweet Roxy, I bet she is enjoying extra goodies and lov-in.

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    1. I’m so sorry to hear that happened to your pets too. I do think there are those in the business that don’t really have a pets’ best interest in mind. There are hairdressers like that doo!!
      Thanks for reading, TB&B

      Like

  10. Poor pup! I’d certainly never go back there again. Or at least never let that person touch my dog again (if there’s no other groomer for miles). I’ve been fortunate and have never had my hair butchered.

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  11. My directions to just trim up around the feet and rear of my American Eskimo dog often get interpreted in very odd (and unattractive) ways. Fortunately Chules has no sense of shame, so it’s all good to him. And it does eventually grow out. Poor Roxy. Chules sends his sympathy. He could send some hair — he has plenty to spare and it’s the right color — but you’d have to curl it for Roxy’s ‘do.

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  12. Susie – it’s frustrating to find someone who can do what you want. When you do, they are golden. We’ve taken to grooming our dog at home – that way can only blame ourselves. Our dog Ivy is a Britanny Spaniel and she hates being groomed, but she seems to endure our trimming and clipping. We’ve had bad experiences which is why we’ve taken the DIY approach, even then sometimes it does not work out as we intended. The good news is, os that it will grow out and Ivy will be shaggy again.

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  13. If it wasn’t so terrible it would be funny. That glorious tail gone! Get Roxy an extra special sweater and coat (and hat and booties) Poor thing deserves it! They get so embarrassed and are not amused by the snicker by other fluffy animals. (Will she ever trust you again?)

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    1. I don’t know if she’ll trust me again! She used to like wearing coats, but not recently. It’s drafty and cold here so she has to wear one anyway. It will grow. I need to make sure she is never clipped by that groomer again!
      Thanks, Phil!

      Liked by 1 person

  14. Oh no! I feel so sorry for Roxy. She won’t want to go back to any groomer after getting her tail nipped. They don’t forget things like that. And what was that groomer thinking!!? You definitely need to get your money back. That’s outrageous! Poor little shivering Roxy. Keep her warm!

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    1. I double checked and we did get the credit. The groomer did such a horrific job! Roxy is running around in a sweater and a funk. Her fluff and her spunky attitude will return I’m sure but it will take another week!
      Thanks for reading, Anneli!

      Liked by 1 person

    1. She is super humiliated, Lisa! I made up a little song today. She really enjoyed The Little Ratdog dittie but had no idea what I was singing.
      The tail and ears are so wrong. I don’t know what the groomer was thinking. I loved the location but don’t know that I can trust them again. Maybe if she’s fired for stealing dog coats, then I’ll consider it.
      Great to see you!

      Liked by 1 person

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