Groomer not required to pay vet costs after owner claims dog was badly burned: CRT

A dog is being groomed in this undated stock image. (Shutterstock)

A groomer won't be required to pay thousands of dollars in vet fees following a B.C. tribunal's decision, in spite of the owner's claim their dog was badly burned during an appointment.

A Civil Resolution Tribunal posted a decision Thursday about the dispute between the owner of a dog named Tara and a Vancouver-based grooming shop.

Tribunal member Eric Regehr said the decision was made based on the balance of probabilities, meaning one scenario was more likely than not.

The tribunal heard that while Tara was being groomed in late June 2021, a "blackness" apparently began forming under her skin. The groomer stopped the appointment and called Tara's owner, advising they take her to the vet.

The grooming company said Tara had "several chronic conditions, which made her susceptible to skin injuries." It also said the owner signed a waiver before the appointment.

Regehr wrote in his decision that Tara's owner provided a photo from the day of the grooming appointment.

"From this photo, it is possible to see slight dark discolouration on Tara's skin, although it is obscured somewhat by her short, white fur. It appears similar to a bruise," he wrote.

Another grooming appointment was scheduled for Tara about a week after the first, during which the groomer noticed her "skin was beginning to break." Even so, they went ahead with the appointment.

Tara's owner provided another photo to the tribunal, taken a couple of days after that second appointment, "which shows three significant areas along Tara's left torso where the skin was breaking and peeling into open sores."

The tribunal heard the owner took Tara back to the vet, who said the injuries "looked like a 'possible' burn from hot water, a clipper, or hot dryer." But in the vet's handwritten notes, they also assessed Tara as having "endocrine (Cushing)."

Regehr wrote he found that "suggests that they diagnosed Tara with Cushing disease."

The groomer refunded Tara's owner for the appointment, which they said was "a customer service gesture and not an admission of liability."

Tara was taken to the vet every two to four days over a two-month period. Her owner claimed $2,600 through the CRT to cover the expenses of vet bills.

"Her condition gradually improved as the skin healed and grew back," Regehr wrote.

"The last bandage change was on Sept. 4, 2021. The photo from that visit showed significant scar tissue but no visible open wound."

IS THE GROOMER RESPONSIBLE?

Regehr explained in his decision the waiver signed by Tara's owner included a statement that "grooming can expose a hidden medical problem or aggravate a current one." However, the groomer and the owner disagree over whether Tara had a pre-existing condition that contributed to the severity of her injury.

Regehr said three reports from vets don't explicitly say whether Tara had a hormone imbalance. A note from a veterinary dermatologist said Tara's "left torso had an appearance 'suggestive of thermal injury burn related healing' but later said that they were 'unable to confirm or deny that Tara’s skin changes' were from a burn."

That dermatologist "concluded that Tara likely had hypothyroidism, which is associated with poor skin health and increased risk of skin infections."

As well, the groomer hired a vet to give their opinion from Tara's clinical records. Regehr wrote that while the vet "did not make a definitive diagnosis, they said that Tara likely had an underlying endocrine disease that made her skin 'very susceptible to even minor injuries.'"

"I find based on these reports that Tara had pre-existing endocrine medical conditions," Regehr determined, adding that Cushing disease and hypothyroidism make the skin susceptible to serious infections, even from very minor injuries.

"This appears to be exactly what happened to Tara. She initially presented with a minor, even superficial, injury. Ten days later, it was so severely infected that she lost most of the skin on the left side of her body. I find that the most likely explanation for this progression is that Tara's endocrine conditions contributed to her injuries."

Regehr acknowledged that the initial injury was likely from that first grooming appointment, but said because of the waiver signed by Tara's owner, the groomer was released from having to compensate their customer and the owner's CRT claim was dismissed.