Last week we received a coupon from Petsmart for $5 off a grooming for our dog, Ajax. Yesterday we used that coupon to get him bathed and clipped. Today we will never shop at Petsmart again. 

My wife took him last night, got him cleaned and clipped and talked to the groomer afterwards.  The groomer said that everything went fine, but he was just a little jumpy while getting his nails clipped. 

My wife felt that Ajax was a little subdued in the evening, but just attributed it to him being tired after grooming. At around 7:30pm Ajax whimpered and came to my wife tearing heavily in both eyes. He was unable to keep his left eye open for extended periods and spent most of the evening with both his eyes closed. 

He was behaviorally close to his usual self this morning and showed his usual excitement towards us and his upcoming walk, but his eyes remained half open while moving and closed otherwise. We called our vet and took him into the first available appointment. 

Our vet diagnosed him with a cornea ulcer on 80% of his left eye, caused by exposure to liquid. She prescribed him medication every 5 hours for the next two weeks and needs to wear a cone to prevent him from scratching his eye. Left untreated, it could result in blindness.

What amazes me is that while our vet says he is in a lot of pain, he was still trying very hard to be his usual self. He ran around the house, jumped on the couches, begged for food, and licked us on our faces.

We’ve had good experiences with Petsmart before, but now Petsmart is not an option for Ajax’s needs. Petsmart’s groomers acted unprofessionally by first allowing detergent to enter our dog’s eyes and by not informing us that it had happened. We simply cannot continue to provide patronage to a company that would brazenly put the health of our dog at risk. 

Both us and Petsmart would have been better off if we just left that coupon in a drawer.