A Rocky Mount dog owner launched a social media page detailing injuries he believes his dog suffered during a PetSmart grooming visit on Jan. 23.
Michael Batchelor’s Facebook page “Justice for Gunner and other fur babies” has reached nearly 10,000 members and his post was shared more than 140,000 times.
He claimed on Facebook his Old English Bulldog’s grooming visit to the Rocky Mount PetSmart on Jefferys Road resulted in “busted blood vessels in both eyes.”
Batchelor said he “was really upset.”
He called it a “heartbreaking” situation where his one-year-old dog Gunner “was obviously in distress, he was breathing hard, and his eyes looked really bad.”
PetSmart investigated Batchelor’s claims. In a statement to WRAL News, a PetSmart official wrote, “When there is any incident with a pet, we work closely with our associates, team of experts and the pet parent in an effort to fully understand what happened.”
Batchelor told WRAL News he is not sure exactly what happened to his 64-pound bulldog, but believed “the staff intentionally did not inform me of Gunner’s condition when I picked him up.”
Batchelor noticed something was wrong after PetSmart’s grooming visit and immediately took the dog to an onsite veterinarian with Banfield Pet Hospital.
Banfield’s veterinarian prescribed eye drops for the condition which is detailed as “hemorrhages” in the paperwork.
Batchelor wanted a second opinion.
His veterinarian later told him a neck leash “too tight for a period of time” is the most likely cause for a “hemorrhage” in both eyes.
Blood work documentation showed no underlying condition caused the injury.
In a message explaining “normal” lab results, Batchelor’s vet also explained Gunner’s movements could be a factor, “this can even happen by Gunner being really excited and pulling on his neck leash.”
Photos after the incident show Gunner’s bloodshot eyes.
Gunner before his visit to Petsmart
Gunner after his visit to Petsmart
According to his veterinarian, Gunner’s eyes are expected to return to normal with no long term effects.
“She said it would be about two weeks for the blood to be completely reabsorbed into the eyes,” Batchelor said.
PetSmart’s statement also explained, “We completed an investigation and found our associates followed all protocol during Gunner’s grooming service. Based on our investigation, we believe that the cause of Gunner’s injury occurred outside of his service at PetSmart.”
Batchelor disagreed with that assessment. He provided WRAL News with a new policy he said a PetSmart employee sent him.
It stated, in part, “Only Use Figure 8 or Cross-Body restraint methods” when servicing “English Bull Dogs, French Bull Dogs, Pugs, Boxers and Boston Terriers.”
PetSmart further explained in its statement, “As a result of this incident, however, we have updated our check-in process to include an expanded list of existing signs of stress such as excessive panting, redness in the eyes, trembling and resistance to entering the salon. We will decline service if two or more of these signs exist.”
Batchelor said PetSmart offered to cover his medical expenses for Banfield’s prescribed eye drops, wanted him to sign a non-disclosure agreement and requested he remove his Facebook post.
He declined, saying, “I just want to get the voices of the pets… that’s more important than anything PetSmart can offer me.”
The more than 45,000 Facebook comments to “Justice for Gunner” include outrage from fellow pet owners, from across the country, Canada and Australia, many wanting to hear from PetSmart on this issue.
PetSmart’s corporate office told WRAL News it’s aware of the Facebook page and responded, “Our associates undergo extensive and continuous training to ensure they meet these strict requirements and we’re always looking for ways to enhance our practices to help create an even better experience for pets in our care.”
Batchelor emphasized, “I don’t want anything from them I just want to get the word to the public.”
