I was this weekend at a Sympossium organized by Pam Lauritzen for the ISCC in Dallas. I did have the occasion to discuss with her husband Chuck Lauritzen, who's also the Assistant Director of the ISCC about injurys or deaths happening in our Salons. He did accept to let me wrote his article here as it is one of the main issue in our Industry.
Deaths in Pet Styling Salons
Perspective of a Professional Pet Stylist
The incidence of serious injury or death of any pet within the environment of a pet styling/grooming facility is a very tragic and regrettable event that demands to be in the spotlight of public and professional scrunity. Let there be no doubt that it is a conscious decision to leave a pet unattended, or to subject a pet to be confines of a cage/crate that is heated by a dryer, or to intermingle pets into groups without constant and rigorous supervisionto cope with their unpredictable reactions to one another. There may be explanations for accidental occurrences, but the reputations of professional pet stylists/groomers are deteriorating into that of an Industry that is replete with incompetence and negligence for which there can be neither excuses nor any acceptable vernacular to dismiss their culpabilitty for the absence of commmon sense and judicious decisions.
The best safeguard against incompetence and negligence is the due diligence of prudent, conscientious, educated and properly trained pet stylists/groomers who adhere to the unwavering protocol that a pet may be unattended for not more than a few minutes and only then if that pet is confortably and safely secured within a cage/crate, that the use of tools, equipment and techniques will never be excessive, that neither abuse nor neglect nor harsh methods and practices will be tolerated and the condition of the pet will be continuously evaluated to assure its well being. Pet owners should expect that reputable pet styling/grooming professionals will be forthright with information pertaining to their qualifications and credentials of training, their experience and their efforts to improve their educational and technical skills as well as their attitude and philosophy regarding their love of animals.
Should a pet stulist/groomer be reluctant or unwillling to provide pet owners with straightforward answers to their inquiries, then it is incumbent upon the owners to seek another pet salon for the humane care and treatment of their pets who cannot speak for themselves. Owners and their pets deserve protection and redress from any unscrupulous, incompetent and negligent members of the pet styling/grooming Industry who pose a threat that may end badly with the sudden loss of a beloved pet and companion.
Pet stylists/groomers must be imbued with the character and the integrity to be accountable for their actions and the consequences thereof, while also recognizing that their methods and practices demand a critical evaluation of the parameters that will strictly define their continued usage. This prescription is a very subjective interpretation, but it behooves the pet stylists/groomers to endorse and adopt the ethical standards that will govern their conduct and behavior to eradicate the preventable injuries and loss of life that have become a blight upon the reputation and public image of the entire pet styling/grooming profession. Should the pet stylists/groomers be unable to invoke the incompromising guidelines by which safe, effective and humane methods and practices become the minimal standard of care, then the intrusion of government regulations and the judiciary system into the daily activities of our businesses and our lives is inevitable.
Pet styling/grooming must be measured not only by the aesthetic, cosmetic and styled appearance of a pet, but also more significantly by the intangible dedication of its practitioners to the humane treatment of their pet clients. While it is presumed that the licensure of pet stylists/groomers would improve the level of expertises and the quality of care provided by a totally unregulated profession, it is no more of a panacea against the injury or death of a pet than the licensure of a physician is against malpractice. The repetitive failure of groomers licensure legislation that has been introduced in many states is attributable to the punitive rhetoric and oppressive content that was designed to penalized an entire profession for the transgressions of a minority of offenders who have brought the negative publicity and notoriety upon the innocent majority of pet stylists/groomers.
Since there are no mandated prerequisites or any governing authorities to impose sanctions upon professional misconduct within the pet styling/grooming Industry, the unsuspecting owners and their pets venture into harm's way if the owner's choice of a pet salon happens to be that of someone who has neither the education nor the experience to compare to the qualified pet stylists/groomers who have devoted their careers to improving and maintaining the health, well being and appearance of their pet clients.
Pet styling/grooming professionals have been striving to oversee and elevate the performance and standard of care of their Industry throught their membership, support and active participation within several organizations whose mission and purpose it is to advance the educational and technical acumen of professional pet stylists/groomers via advanced continuing and technical education courses, seminars and voluntary testing/certification of their academic, artistic and practical skills that will directly benefit the pet clientele they have chosen to serve.
The most notable among these are: The International Society of Canine Cosmetologists (ISCC), based in Garland, TX, The National Dog Groomers Association of America (NDGAA), based in Clark, PA and International Professional Groomers (IPG), based in Elk Grove, IL. While these organizations dictate differing degrees of compliance and achievement, The International Society of Canine Cosmetologics (ISCC) has unquestionably the most stringent and comprehensive criterion to attain their multi-faceted certifications that culminate in the status of Master Pet Stylist, Meritus.
The pet styling/grooming Industry bears an intrinsic responsibility to the memory of Murphy and Binky and Phoebe and Toby and to all of the innocent pets entrusted to our care to ensure that our impeccable professional conduct is so beyond reproach as to leave no uncertainty that our pet clients will be returned safely to their owner's embrace.
