SAN DIEGO (CBS 8) - After a horrifying experience, one local dog owner is the reason behind a Senate bill that seeks to enforce higher regulations for pet groomers. But not everyone is backing the proposed bill.
Dog lover David Martin treats his Yorkshire terrier mix Lucy like family, but never dreamed her trip to a pet groomer would leave him with a pricey veterinary bill.
"We have to make it so that dog groomers have to be accountable for what they do to our pets," he said.
Lucy suffered a detached retina, a severed ligament in her leg and had five of her nipples shaved off. Her story is now the inspiration behind Senate Bill 969, authored by San Diego Senator Juan Vargas.
"We need to make sure these people are trained when they groom these beautiful pets, and we need to make sure they know what they're doing and they don't harm them," Vargas said.
The bill would require all pet groomers to obtain a license, undergo training and comply with a number of work-related conditions. Right now, any training, certification, enrichment courses or degrees of any kind aside from a business license is completely elective.
But Eileen Hecker, co-owner of Hot Dogity Do's, says the measure is not only hounding local businesses, but it threatens to clip their bottom line.
"I will probably lose half of my clientele," she said.
Hecker says the new rules would mean Hot Dogity Do's would be regulated by the Veterinary Medical Board, an organization she says has no business in her business.
"That is like having a doctor overseeing cosmetologist. They have nothing to do with what we do," she said.
While Hecker is now collecting signatures in protest of the bill, David Martin says Lucy is left with a daily reminder of what can happen when your four-legged friend is left in the wrong hands.
"She has now what the vet calls cherry eye. If you look at her right eye you can see a big circle underneath where it looks like it's just not in it's socket correctly," he said.
This bill still has to go to committee, but Senator Vargas was hoping it will become law by next year.
