FRESNO, Calif. (FOX26) — A Fresno dog owner says what was supposed to be a routine nail trim turned into a frightening experience after her dog was injured during a grooming visit.
Hailey, a Fresno native, says she brought her dog, Cornelia, a 7-year-old rescue Shih Tzu, to Poodle Town USA in Fresno on Jan. 13 for a nail trim and paw pad cleanup.
She says when she returned to pick up her dog, the groomer told her Cornelia had been cut and asked her to hold the dog so a bandage could be applied.
“He was kind of actually holding her out to me, like she was just, like, a random, like, dog,” Hailey said. “And was like, ‘I cut her. Can you hold her so I can put a band aid on her?’”
Hailey says she was shocked and did not initially realize how serious the injury was until she got to her car.
“When we got in the car, I looked down and I realized that there’s blood on my hand,” she said. “So I was like, this is more than just, like, a little nick.”
She says the bandage was soaked in blood and that Cornelia cried out in pain when it was removed. Hailey says she took her dog directly to a veterinarian, where staff were concerned about the bleeding.
Hailey also emphasized that she did not request or authorize any shaving of her dog’s fur.
“I didn’t ask for her to be shaved,” she said. “I just took her in for a nail trim and paw pad clean up.”
The groomer who handled Cornelia, David, confirmed to KMPH that he performed additional grooming beyond what was requested and said that decision led to the injury.
“She asked me to do her dog’s nails and pads. I did that,” David said. “She did not ask me to shave the dog. I didn’t ask her, I just did it real quick. And in the process, the dog jumped and I nicked her.”
A true accident, he says.
David said he immediately told Hailey what happened and offered to refund her money and pay for veterinary care.
“I said, ‘You paid me $20, come back and get your money back and take it to the vet, and we’ll pay for it,’” he said.
Hailey confirmed she received a refund for the grooming service and that the business paid the veterinary bill.
After sharing her experience on Facebook, Hailey says other pet owners reached out to her with reviews and photos describing injuries they say their dogs got at the same business. Among them was a Yelp review from 2023 where a dog owner said their senior dog later developed an eye injury that resulted in permanent damage.
When asked about negative reviews, David said the business follows up with pet owners after any accident to check on the dog’s condition.
David claims he reached out to Hailey to follow up on her dog, Hailey says he did not.
Hailey says her goal in speaking out is to prevent similar incidents from happening to other pets.
“No dog needs to be harmed at the hands of somebody else,” she said.
Poodle Town USA has been operating in the Fresno community for fifty years. David became emotional while discussing the incident, and apologized.
“I am extremely sorry from the bottom of my heart,” he said. “We don’t do things like that on purpose to anybody’s dog.”
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In a written statement sent to KMPH, Poodle Town USA said this about the incident.
“During this visit, a new customer brought in a dog that requested a nail trim. We trimmed the nails and the pads. We also tried to trim up and fix a home grooming job. While our staff attempted to carefully address the dog’s condition, a minor cut occurred. We immediately apologized to the customer, issued a full refund, and covered the cost of the dog’s veterinary care.
The safety and well-being of pets is our highest priority. Grooming animals can present challenges, even when handled with care and experience, but our team always acts with compassion and good faith. In this instance, our staff took responsibility and acted promptly to ensure the dog received proper care.
We are deeply disappointed that this isolated incident—despite being addressed responsibly—has led to ongoing public accusations that do not reflect the full context or our long-standing commitment to animal care.
Poodle Town USA has proudly served our community for over 40 years. Generations of pet owners have trusted us with their animals, and we have always treated every pet as if it were our own. We stand by our employees, who consistently demonstrate professionalism, kindness, and dedication to the animals in their care.”
A supporter of the business and owner of a local dog rescue, Mel Garcia, also sent a statement to KMPH.
“Thankfully, the dog is OK. I know this must have been a stressful situation for the owner,” Garcia wrote. “Poodle Town has been a huge support to local dog rescues for years. Any injury to a dog was truly not intentional. David and Sandy go over and beyond to help the dogs in our community.”