That’s not fur! Dog comes back from salon with a very close shave
WITH his luxurious white coat, Dash was very much the hound about town.
But the proud samoyed has ‘lost his confidence’ after a rather brutal short back and sides left him looking half the dog he used to be.
The five- year- old’s coat is meant to keep him warm in a Siberian winter. However, the new cut would likely leave him feeling chilly in a British spring.
His owner Louise Thompson was horrified when she went to collect him from the dog salon after a regular wash and trim.
But the groomer is adamant it had to be done because the pet’s long coat was badly matted.
Dash and his fellow samoyed Neytiri were dropped off by Mrs Thompson at Happy Dog Groomers in Rawtenstall, Lancashire on April 8. But later that morning she received a text message from the groomer, saying that Dash’s fur was tangled and had needed to be ‘shaved short’.
Mrs Thompson, 37, from Bacup, Lancashire, prepared herself for Dash to have a few short patches of fur – but when she turned up at the parlour she was appalled to find his long coat had been completely shaved off.
‘I couldn’t believe my eyes, I almost didn’t recognise Dash. I was horrified,’ she said.
Her husband David, 42, added: ‘Dash seems in shock. It’s like he’s naked. It’s upsetting to see him like that, he’s lost a lot of confidence.’
The samoyed breed has a special double layer coat that insulates them from heat and cold.
According to experts, the outer coat needs to be brushed daily, with a time-consuming full groom once a week involving combing the thick fur down to the skin to avoid it becoming matted. The Thompsons received a refund from the grooming parlour, but they say this does not cover the cost of a coat and sun lotion to protect Dash outdoors.
Richard Coop, 30, of Happy Dogs, says he told the Thompsons he would have to shave Dash due to the level of matting in his coat. ‘There was just no way of combing his coat out,’ he said.
Samoyeds were first bred to hunt and herd reindeer.
They were popularised in Europe when polar explorers chose them to haul their sledges.