A woman is being branded as a “Karen” after she gave a dog groomer a bizarre list of demands, including that her pet must give “consent” through every stage of the grooming procedure. But experts agree with her!
Karen client gives dog groomer an unbelievable list of demands for her pet
Anyone who believes in the time-honored adage “the customer is always right” hasn’t seen this list of demands! The list a prospective client emailed to one dog groomer can only be described as bizarre and entitled.
A woman named Susan was struggling to find a groomer to meet the requirements for her “rare” 18-month-old Bernedoodle, the Daily Mail reports. And once you see her list of demands, it’s easy to see why no groomer was eager to work with this prospective client.
A Bernedoodle is a mix of a Bernese Mountain dog with a poodle. They typically can have curly, wavy, or straight fur, which may need frequent brushing – up to three times a week – to keep their coat properly maintained.
In the email, Susan introduced herself:
“My name is Susan and I am looking for a groomer for my dog who can groom him in the non-confrontational manner I believe is best for him,” Susan wrote in the email. “Dooley is an 18 month Bernowdoodle (if you are unfamiliar with the more rare doodle breeds he is a Bernese Mountain dog/chow/standard poodle) and this would be his first haircut as I have not found a groomer willing to work within the parameters I believe in.”
“He currently weighs 89lbs and his hair is approximately 7-8 inches long on the longer areas and I would like to remove 1-2 inches all over,” she stated.
Then Susan listed her demands, and that’s where things got weird…
Woman has bizarre demands for dog groomer
“While I’m sure any groomer could easily handle the haircut, I’m having difficulty finding a groomer willing to wait for him to consent to each part of the grooming,” Susan explained. “He will consent by maintaining eye contact with you while you are working, and if he looks away he is withdrawing his consent, and you will need to stop until he grants it again.”
“I do not believe in forcing him to do anything he is psychologically uncomfortable with,” Susan continued, “and furthermore, I do not believe any dog should.”
“Since I understand not everyone is as fluent in his language as I am, I would prefer it if I stayed and supervised his grooming to make sure you don’t miss anything he is telling you,” Susan added.
Completing Susan’s exhaustive list of requests, she further stated that the appointment could only take a “maximum of two hours” in order to fit into her “very busy schedule.”
Internet calls woman “insufferable…Karen”
“Tell me you’re insufferable without telling me you’re insufferable,” one woman commented.
“It’s official – the new ‘Karen’ shall be ‘Susan,'” one man commented.
“‘This woman not only knows nothing about dog behavior, she’s out of her mind!” Another man pointed out. “Direct eye contact from a dog tends to be confrontational in nature. You should never look an unfamiliar dog straight in the eyes if you can help it.”
Some dog experts agree with “Karen” client about dog giving “consent”
Surprisingly, some dog experts agreed that dog grooming can be both physically and emotionally stressful for the animals. Not only is it an invasion of the dog’s personal space, but the dog grooming industry itself is unregulated.
The experts said that if dog grooming was done in a more mindful way, it could be safer by ensuring that the dog gives its consent and is happy to be groomed. They also said the dog grooming industry needs to be regulated, calling it an “anything-goes industry” and saying “it needs to be cleaned up.”
