PetSmart

I typically take my dog Bishop in for a nail grind only at 14137 Rivergate Pkwy, Charlotte, NC 28273, primarily because he does not like to go into the grooming salon. What I witnessed in the grooming salon absolutely sickened me! I was contacted by the grooming salon and asked to come in earlier than my 5 pm appointment time due to multiple cancellations. Around 4:15pm today, Feb. 27, 2021, I left Bishop briefly so I could run to the front of the store and pay for his services. Once I returned less than five minutes later, I was standing outside observing as I usually do, when I witnessed the grooming salon employee Ashlee choke the dog she was grooming. Not only did she choke him TWICE, but she yanked on the fur on his chin causing his head to be forced downward, then proceeded to aggressively hold his snout shut while his tongue was out causing him to bite his tongue. I am unsure what potential difficulty the dog was giving Ashlee prior to me observing, but he did not attempt to nip at or bite her once while I was standing there. He was only trying to get away from her. As this was all happening so quickly, I began to bang on the glass to get her to stop, then ran inside the grooming salon to get her attention. Ashlee grabbed the fur on the dog's chin again, then tried to "play nice" with the dog. One of her co-works said "she's going to report you" where Ashlee responded "I don't care." Ashlee said that twice as she took the dog off the table and proceeded to the back out of sight where she stayed. I was so upset I was shaking. I had the store Michael come to the back, where I reported what I saw. Michael gave the typical I am so sorry this happened, however there was no sense of urgency. Thus, propelling me to request corporate contact where I was given an 888 number. I also requested the GM's name. I went to my car and called the 888 number where I was transferred from person to person. I went back into the store, spoke with Michael (store manager) and requested the direct contact for the GM. I left a voicemail and will continue to call and follow up until something is done. This is unacceptable!

I have had a few conversations with the store's General Manager Mark Constantine who finally left an email to the overall outcome stating they did see something on the video previewed and actions are being taken, however they could not detail those actions which I completely understand based on privacy and policy. I posted what happened on multiple public platforms inclusive of Nextdoor to find out the particular employee Ashlee has a history of this behavior as well as she is still grooming animals as of today. I reached back out to the GM this morning to then be told that he did not see anything that warranted job loss. When I mentioned to Mark that I would be doing what I could to take this public because the public needed to be made aware of what is going on and the lack of protection for the animals. I am not a reactionary pet owner, however, I know what I witnessed. Mark then said oh how about you come in and we watch the video footage together. I respectfully declined as I was there to witness it, I know what happened, and I do not need to see the video. I thanked him for his response and we ended the call. People need to know what is going on at this location and the lack of urgency.