Pet Parent Heartbroken After Pup's Horrific Grooming Experience

When Michael Batchelor dropped off his one-year-old Old English bulldog pup Funner at the Rocky Mount PetSmart for a grooming session, he hadn’t expected to discover his pup looking worse for wear when he returned.

As they drove home, Michael noticed that Gunner’s eyes were bright red and incredibly bloodshot. Gunner was also in distress and seemed to breathing very hard. He rushed the pup to the vet, who informed him that Gunner had minor hemorrhaging in his eyes that would slowly go away in about two weeks as his eyes reabsorbed the blood.

The condition could be caused by the pup having to wear a neck leash for too tight and for too long, as blood work showed that no other health conditions could have caused this to happen. It could also be caused by Gunner pulling too hard on a leash.

Michael was furious when he discovered this and posted about it on Facebook, where he set up a group called “Justice for Gunner and other fur babies”, as he believed other pups may have faced similar treatment while being groomed at this branch. His post, which included pictures of Gunner’s condition, was shared more than 150,000 times and garnered nearly 50,000 outraged comments while the group hit 10,000 members.

PetSmart believes that all protocol was followed during the grooming session and that Gunner’s injuries were likely received elsewhere, though Michael disagrees with this statement. According to Michael, PetSmart offered to cover all medical expenses and asked him to remove his Facebook post and sign a non-disclosure agreement. Michael declined, saying he did not want anything more than for the message to reach other pup parents.

Feature Image Source: Michael Batchelor