Don't use if you care about your pet

This is a Cape Town-based mobile pet parlour that I tried out for the very first time with respect to my 7-month old bulldog puppy who was recovering from a left side medial shoulder injury (he had re-injured 2.5 weeks prior, slipping on the floor in an abductor motion and we had been crating him for 1.5 weeks). He was really on the mend and went out for his first walk since his reinjury the day before we used this service. We had been so happy for him as he was desperate to get out and he loved being out of his crate.

What a HUGE HUGE mistake using this service which I 5000% regret. The main groomer pulled out that very same left front leg out to the side (in the very same abductor motion) and then aggressively back, causing the exact same injury that the puppy had just recovered from (imagine a rotator cuff injury on a human and someone pulling your arm and pushing it back aggressively). I had clearly told the owner of the business the day before that the puppy needed to be treated with care and explained the injury. She apparently made a note on his file - shoulder surgery, which wasn't quite the case but heck, if it meant that the groomers would be even more careful, I was all for it. But the groomer apparently didn't know where a shoulder is located on a dog. After I shouted at him to stop hurting my puppy, he said he thought it was the back leg?? I'm FURIOUS! Soon after that, my puppy started limping again and it's back to square one with him. I really want to kick myself for trusting these guys with my injured dog.

In addition, after they gave him a bath, they had him on a rope that can easily strangle the dog if he pulls on it, which the puppy did. Then his tongue was white, then blue (we asked about it), thinking that he had eaten soap. Finally, I realized that he wasn't getting enough oxygen because he was literally strangling himself pulling on the rope. As soon as I became aware of what the problem was, I told the assistant handler that the rope was way too tight - I'm surprised the puppy didn't pass out. She then relaxed the lead. A bulldog can easily have a heart attack under these traumatic conditions. What a horrible horrible day for the little guy.

As for the handler, clueless!!! That's all I can describe these guys as. I was assured that they had over 12 years of experience with dogs but clearly not. I'm seething with anger right now. If you love your pets as much as I love mine, keep away.

The owner doesn't even know about the strangulation (only the shoulder issue) and she offered to refund my money immediately. I told her no thanks. I would rather she keep it so that I can speak freely about what a disaster this entire experience was.