Taking your pet to the groomer should be a calm and safe experience, especially when you’re putting your trust in a random stranger to take care of your beloved animal. However, that doesn’t seem to be the case for a young woman who posted a video on TikTok in which a male staff member was not only incredibly rude, but also brought her to tears.
Ivette Anahi shared her terrifying exchange at P’etcetera, a pet boarding and grooming business in Mesquite, Texas. Not only was the man yelling at her, but he also attempted to grab her phone the moment she started recording.
He accused Anahi of ‘lying’ when she tried to explain what happened and claimed that her recount of events didn’t happen. Imagine entrusting your pet to someone who’s not only hurling verbal abuse at you, but also doesn’t have the patience to explain what’s going on to you.
P’etcetera has been in business since 1983 and according to its official website, it’s been part of the Mesquite community for over 30 years. The video’s caption stated that she was warned about the staff’s negative attitudes through Yelp reviews, but she didn’t expect that comments made 6 years ago would still be relevant to this day. People who saw the video offered their support and noticed that the owner, Dale Matthews would constantly try to defend himself on Google.
CBS News reported that P’etcetera is now under police investigation after the video of the altercation went viral. While the business left no comment, Anahi was able to share her side of the story. She explained that she wanted to tell the staff that her dog gets nervous during nail clippings, but the staff just took her pet before she could finish.
“The person at the front didn’t greet me, he just said, ‘What do you need?’ And I said, ‘Oh, I need a nail trim.’ I was trying to explain to him, ‘Hey, my dog gets really nervous when it comes to nail trimming.'”
After they realized that the dog was acting strange, not only did they not want to give her back her pet, and the male staff member began to yell at her, which led to the events of that video.
As of writing, P’etcetera has 4.2 stars on Google. However, its Yelp rating currently sits at 1.5 stars, with many people referencing the viral TikTok exchange. The business page is now being monitored by the site’s support team after people left multiple negative reviews, telling others to take their pets elsewhere.
This just goes to show that it’s important to read reviews before you book a service, especially something that involves your pets. Even comments from 6 years ago could be relevant if nothing was changed for the better. Hopefully, Anahi’s dog is safe, and she was able to give her pet a proper treatment. As for P’etcetera, it may be fighting for its life on review sites, but good luck trying to fix your reputation after the abuse hurled at its customers has been immortalized on the internet.