I don’t know about you, but I find sitting in a hair salon getting a dye job is enough to make my eyes water. But in the name of beauty I’ve put up with it! However, I have always found it a little much when dog owners choose to put their pets through such an experience, especially since the poor things don’t have much say in the situation. Trying to pretty dogs up using human grooming attributes is definitely going too far. Although these treatments are supposed to be pet-friendly, one poor little Pomeranian’s owner found out the hard way that dye jobs for doggies is not a good idea. (1)
Diffy The Dyed Dog
Diffy the Pomeranian is a perfect example of a doggy dye job gone terribly wrong. His owner decided to have his ears and tail dyed pink resulting in the loss of his left ear. (1)
When Diffy’s owner brought him home following his fur coloring appointment, she noticed his ears became droopy. She sought advice online posting: “Before the dye, my dog’s ears were up. But after I went to the pet store and the dog stylist colored his ear with aluminum foil for 40 minutes without heat…they were folded down.” (1) https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fpokpak.pakpok.58%2Fposts%2F1718720781607565&width=500
Dyed Dog Loses Ear
According to the owner, the stylist said it would take a few days for Diffy’s ears to recover. But this was not the case. Because the dye was left on too long, his ears not only became permanently droopy, but later one fell off. (1)
The explanation for the disaster is Diffy suffered an allergic reaction. His ear skin turned red and flaky directly following the treatment. However, the reaction was so severe, Diffy’s ear actually fell off. “Diffy’s left ear is now falling off because of the color dye,” posted Diffy’s owner. “The pet groomer put too much dye on him. My dog’s ear was itchy, burnt, turned black, cracked, and eventually fell off.” How awful! (1)
Dyed Dog Backlash
Not surprisingly the owner received backlash from people who read her post. She did take responsibility for the tragic results posting, “I don’t blame the grooming store, but I blame myself for wanting to have his ears dyed.” Do ya think? (2)
This dog dying trend is causing animal lovers around the world to declare the practice is animal cruelty. When fashion model Lia Catreux posted pictures of herself with her fluorescent pink Pomeranian, she was deemed cruel and selfish by followers. Animal protection agencies around the world tend to agree. (2, 3)
Dyed Dog Advocacy
“We believe that animals should not be painted or dyed for cosmetic reasons as this could have dangerous and potentially fatal consequences – there is the potential for the dye/paint to be toxic and harm the animals’” says the RSPCA. “Our pets are living creatures and dyeing them in this way sends out an extremely worrying message that they could be viewed as novelty accessories rather than intelligent, sentient animals.” (2)
PETA echoes this belief. “PETA would urge people to let dogs be dogs: Love and appreciate them for their natural beauty and leave them out of our confusing human shenanigans.” I agree 100%! (2)