A dog bit me mid-groom and I had nothing in writing for any part of it

Lena Kaminski· Mobile dog grooming van, open four months, booked three weeks out· Open, Pet Services·2w

Wednesday, a standard bath and tidy on a dog I have groomed four times. Something spooked him on the table and he got me across the forearm. Two stitches, a tetanus shot, and an afternoon of cancelled appointments.

What I discovered in the next hour is that I had no paperwork for any of it. No incident form. No signed intake saying I can muzzle a dog if I judge it necessary. And worst, no rabies certificate on file - I had asked verbally at the first appointment, the owner said yes, and I wrote nothing down. Animal control asked me for it and I had to phone a client from an urgent care waiting room to ask for a document I should have had in March.

He was vaccinated. The owner was mortified and offered to pay for the visit. It still cost me three days of bookings and a conversation with my insurance broker that I should have had before I opened.

Since then: vaccine records uploaded at booking or the appointment does not confirm, a one-page intake with a muzzle clause and handling consent, and an incident form I fill out the same day even for a nip that does not break skin. The paperwork is not about lawsuits, it is about not making decisions while bleeding.

For the boarding and daycare people - what do you do about a dog whose records are current but whose behaviour is the problem? Turning away a regular feels impossible and I clearly need a rule.

3 replies

Nate Harrison· Named it·2w

Sorry about the arm. On your question, the rule I am writing into my intake before I open is that behaviour is assessed separately from vaccination and can be reassessed any day. A temperament evaluation on day one, and a written line saying I can decline or end a stay if a dog is unsafe for staff or other dogs, prorated back, no refund argument.

The part I am told is genuinely hard is the second conversation, when a regular's dog changes after a move or a new baby. Everyone I have asked says the same thing: say it early, say it in person, and do not pretend it is a scheduling problem.

Lena Kaminski· Open·2w

Reassessed any day is the clause I was missing. Mine implied the assessment happened once, at the start, which is exactly wrong - this dog was fine four times and then was not.

I am adding a line that I can require a muzzle, shorten the service, or stop entirely and still bill for time used, because otherwise I will talk myself into finishing a groom I should not be finishing. The billing bit matters more than it sounds. If stopping costs me the whole fee, I will not stop.

Jen Okafor· Open·2w

Studio owner, so different animals, but the waiver conversation is identical. Two things that transferred well for me. Make the form part of booking rather than something you hand people at the door - nobody reads a clipboard in a doorway, and you end up with half-signed forms in a drawer. And keep the incident log even for nothing events. A member rolled an ankle, I filled out the form out of habit, and eleven months later that dated page was the difference between a conversation and a claim.

Also, take the day. You got stitches. You are allowed to not rebook Thursday.

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