HOUSTON – A viral video marked the end of a PetSmart associate's career in the grooming center at the store in west Houston.
The video shows a woman grooming Boo, a Shih Tzu, in a rough manner at the PetSmart at 19945 Katy Freeway.
VIDEO: PetSmart groomer gets rough with dog
Terah Leder was shopping for dog food and decided to check out the grooming area.
Her wife noticed something peculiar about the groomer’s behavior and that’s when Leder started recording video with her smartphone.
“She was getting more aggressive and more angry. It was like she was disturbed. She was upset about something. I started recording because I was getting upset and I wanted to have proof so I could take action. To show somebody that this is happening,” Leder said.
Leder said as soon as the groomer got rough with Boo, she started banging on the window as hard as she could.
“She was appalled. She didn't know what to do. She was just looking around, like oh my God, what just happened? I made eye contact with her and said, 'I saw you,' with my lips,” Leder said.
Leder said she was so outraged she stuck around and waited for an hour for Boo’s owner to show up so she could tell her what happened.
“That's what I hope somebody would do for me, for my dog. That's my fur baby. If anyone put their hands on my dog the wrong way, we would have a serious issue,” Leder said.
Brooke Vowers, Boo’s owner, posted the video on Facebook and said it made her sick to her stomach.
“I was so mad about it, I posted the video. I want to warn people so they know that, hey, you might think your dog is in great care but not the case,” Vowers said.
Many comments on the Facebook post voice concern over the dog's treatment.
PetSmart released the following statement on the incident:
"This treatment is completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated. The associate is no longer with PetSmart."
Here is the text that accompanied Brooke Vowers' Facebook video:
"Just took my dog to get groomed and as I’m walking out this lady comes up to me and said she’s been waiting for an hour to see who’s dog this was because of how mean the groomer was to her and that she called corporate . She sent me this video i am sick to my stomach about it and will not be going back !!!!!!!!!hope CHARLOTTE BARNES enjoys the video of her wonderful service PLEASE SHARE"