07/22/2025
July 22, 2025: For immediate release — A public statement from our owner Paul Haire regarding the unfortunate incident that took place in 2024. Furthermore, today is the first and only time we have been made aware of any additional alleged incidents. We have not been given any video evidence of the alleged four additional incidents:
We are reaching out today with transparency and care regarding an incident that has understandably raised alarm within our community. While we don’t have complete information yet, we want to issue our own statement.
A year ago, a young golden retriever in Kevin’s care for grooming died while on the table from what a vet confirmed was a heart attack. The vet who examined the dog within minutes stated she was certain that the dog had succumbed to a congenital heart defect, Dilated Cardio Myopathy. We were told the condition was “a ticking time bomb.”
This defect has become a recognized medical problem in this popular breed. The vet was specifically asked if there was any sign of any other contributing factor including trauma or asphyxiation and she indicated without hesitation that there was not.
When the dog’s heart attack began, the critical nature of the situation was not immediately apparent to Kevin as the dog appeared to quietly lower itself from a standing to a “sphinx” position. As is common practice in grooming, the dog was supported by loose chest and head straps. Kevin did not immediately recognize the dog going quiet as a sign of distress because the dog appeared calm, in a semi-upright position, and did nothing to indicate discomfort.
We were told by the examining vet that, despite our rendering CPR in which the staff receives certified training, nothing Kevin could have done would have changed the outcome of the heart attack.
Immediately before the heart attack Kevin struggled to control the dog. He failed to follow our protocol of taking a dog off the table when this occurs.
That struggle, while not rising to the level made in the accusations against Kevin, may have caused the dog enough stress to pull the pin on the ticking time bomb.
While Kevin understood the gravity of his mistake, he was removed from grooming to undergo a rigorous retraining from our 2 senior groomers in our ‘No Fear” protocols and safety measures. This took place over several months before he was allowed to resume limited responsibilities as a bather.
Neither before this incident or after have we seen or have had reported to us any injury or customer complaint about the treatment of dogs in our grooming regarding Kevin or anyone else. Nor has any dog since shied away from Kevin on a return visit. Those, and the supervision of the senior groomers, are the key factors we closely monitored on his return to grooming.
We understand how distressing this news may be and want to reassure you of the following:
The health and safety of every dog in our care is our highest priority.
We have reviewed all related procedures and are confident in the professionalism and compassion of our staff.
We continue to work closely with veterinarians and animal care professionals to ensure we uphold the best standards in our industry.
We know how much trust you place in us when you leave your pets in our care, and that trust means everything to us.
Paul Haire
Owner
Your Dog's Best Friendseos
