Backstabbed by a Grooming Salon

Before I get into the backstabbing story, here a few of the good memories I had at this salon.

At the second pet grooming salon I worked at, I was also a receptionist/ bather. It was a tough job, and they said they were going to train me to do haircuts, but never ended up giving me the opportunity to learn. One day, my manager lied and majorly backstabbed me.

I was doing a fanny trim on an aussie using the groomers helper and a cushion underneath because he was spinning and sitting. He started to try to get in front of the cushion, so I was lifting his butt to keep him standing. A groomer ran over and stopped me because she thought I was pulling him backwards causing him to choke. I wasn’t pulling, I was lifting gently. Even if I was, the pressure would be on the back of the neck, not the esophagus.

“Fanny trim” is when you just trim the dog’s butt, like on an austrailian shepherd, corgi, or golden retriever.

I told the groomer to feel how much room there was around the dog's neck, and how the groomer's helper works, since I got a full demo from the creator of it a a grooming convention. Of course, there are exceptions, but this was not that extreme at all. She said “we don’t use the groomers helper here so I don’t know,” and I told her that her not knowing how it works has nothing to do with me, and if she doesn’t know then why run over here like I’m some kind of dog abuser when I have NEVER injured a dog. 

The manager backed her up even though she didn’t see it. The next day the manager told me the owner saw the footage and decided the dog was choking. She said the owner said if I have an outburst like that again, he will let me go. I apologized and cried and have barely slept. The day after, I apologized to the groomer. I also asked the owner if I can see the footage, and HE LITERALLY HAD NO IDEA WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT. In fact, he said he is interviewing people at another location so I can go get mentored by the groomer there, being super positive because he likes me and had no idea. So my manager flat out lied to back up her precious groomer because she’s been there a long time and I’m newer.

The next day, I was going to be alone with the manager all day. I didn’t trust her or anyone in the company anymore, but it was so hard to find places that will hire newer groomers who need haircut training.  Once I told the owner that the manager lied to me and he stopped responding and wouldn’t answer his phone. When I got there the next day, they fired me on the spot, so I got my things and left. It was so messed up that I didn’t know how to feel, act, or think. I felt so betrayed and didn’t understand how I deserved this after having a great relationship with my manager.

Fast forward to a few months later, and karma got them back for me. Some random person committed arson at a nearby bar called Texas Loosey’s. It burned down and took down a couple of businesses next door, which included this grooming salon. I love that this happened and am glad they got what was coming to them..

Leaving this salon ended up being the best thing that ever happened to me, for so many reasons. I was able to quickly find another salon where the owner interviewed me by having me do a haircut on her personal dog (toy poodle) and hired me on the spot as a groomer rather than a bather. I was doing haircuts from day one there. It just goes to show that you should never stay in a job that you don’t feel appreciated or treated right in. After I left public school teaching, I vowed to myself to never allow an employer to treat me the way I was treated as a teacher.

This was the dog I groomed for my interview at the new salon.

Thanks for reading another Puppissimo blog post! Let me know if you have had a similar experience at a job. Also let me know if you have any feedback about my blog posts. I am doing them just for fun to tell my many stories, but would still like to make them entertaining for people, so I am all ears. Otherwise, I’ll see you in the next one, and on my socials!