Pet grooming can be a pretty cool and fun way to give your best bud a new look — within limits. Many a pooch has perked up after a fresh trim or a fancy ‘do. Again, within reason. Getting their fur off their faces so they can see? Cool. Trimming long hair in the summer so they don’t overheat? Also cool.
But, things that humans do at the salon don’t always translate well for dogs. And what happened to a poor Pomeranian is an unfortunate reminder that dye jobs and dogs don’t mix.
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A pet owner’s attempt to dye her Pomeranian’s ears bright red turned tragic after the dog’s ears both fell off.
According to Metro , the owner of Diffy, the Pomeranian, took her dog to a grooming salon in Hua Hin, Thailand, and asked the groomer to dye Diffy’s ears and tail.
Diffy spent 40 minutes with the color on his fur during the foil-wrap dye job,
Though the owner was hopeful for a colorfully cute turnout, it didn’t take long for signs that it hadn’t gone well to start showing up.
Almost immediately, Diffy’s ears started drooping, where normally they were perky.
The groomer apparently told Diffy’s owner that his ears would return to their normal perkiness in “two or three days,” but, instead, his ears got flaky and the skin turned red.
His owner turned to the internet for help.
Online, she asked for some guidance, if anybody had experienced such a thing before.
“Before the dye, my dog’s ears were up,” she wrote. “But after I went to the pet store and the dog stylist colored his ear with aluminum foil for 40 minutes without heat, I took him home and his ears turned out like this.
“They were folded down. The stylist said that I have to wait for two or three days and his ears will recover.”
She pleaded with her social media following for assistance, “Has anybody experienced this before?”
Although some reassured Diffy’s owner, saying they had gone through the same thing before, things got worse for Diffy.
Diffy’s owner said that “Diffy’s left ear is now falling off because of the color dye. The pet groomer put too much dye on him. My dog’s ear was itchy, burnt, turned black, cracked, and eventually fell off.”
Not everyone was as understanding and willing to help, though. Many slammed Diffy’s owner for their negligence.
One local wrote, “Dogs are not unicorns. Dog lovers should know that dying is very dangerous to them.”
“Aren’t all dog owners aware of this?” they asked, “Apparently, she hasn’t done any research and I bet the grooming is using a human dying colour, which is worse.”
Animals are not able to handle the same chemicals used in human grooming. The downfalls far outweigh the benefits, and include chemical burns, toxicity, and blindness to name a few.
However, she doesn’t blame the groomer for all of this — she blames herself for wanting her dog’s ears dyed.
And she posted a pic of Diffy’s ear after it had fallen off. Vets around the country picked up on it and started sharing it around.
Reactions are pouring in from all over and it’s safe to say, people are NOT happy with this owner’s decisions.
Many were dismayed with the level — or lack of — logic involved with this sad situation.
Others wanted to point out that there are safe ways to navigate special grooming jobs.
If done safely, and with care, dyeing your pup’s hair can be great experience.
Professionals had much harsher words, though.
“Let this be a lesson to other dog owners,” Neeyada Sirisampandh, who runs a dog rescue group in Bangkok, said.
“It is dangerous to dye your puppy’s fur. This dog’s ear looks like it suffered an allergic reaction and was burned. Then it fell off. His ear is gone forever. It’s all the owner’s fault for trying to color them.”
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen dogs in danger after a dye job, either.
In 2018, Pinellas County Animal Services in Florida shared the story of Violet, a Maltese mix that had come under their care after being dyed purple. “Violet’s eyes were swollen shut, she was limp and listless, she had obvious burns to her skin,” they said.
She almost didn’t survive.
It took three months of care, with pain meds, antibiotics, IV fluids, and countless other treatments, to get poor Violet back to health. Thankfully Diffy wasn’t dyed head-to-toe like Violet was, or it could have been much worse!
h/t Metro