More complaints, concerns about Spring area pet groomer who is now the target of a criminal investigation

SPRING, Texas - Since our first story aired, we've heard from others voicing their concerns about a groomer at Pet Supplies Plus in Spring who no longer works there.

Remember that pet grooming in Texas is not regulated, here's no license or permit needed to groom pets.

BACKGROUND: Local pet owner says she had to rush her dog to hospital after going to groomer in Spring

"He was very near dead. If we had waited very much longer to take him to the vet, he would have perished," Karen Bailor said during an interview on Monday.

Bailor, who owns a 3-year-old Dachshund named Taz, wanted others to be aware of a pet groomer at Pet Supplies Plus in Spring.

Since our story aired the Montgomery County Precinct 2 Constables Office has initiated a criminal investigation.

"Unfortunately this little dog, this most recent situation, is not the first."

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Samus Winter says she worked with the dog groomer, who no longer works at Pet Supplies Plus in Spring, from October 2019 through February of 2020.

"The same exact dogs I had no problem with on my table, they'd get on her table, and it was just an instant meltdown like they knew they were terrified," Winter said.

"He was part of our lives for 13 years," said Becky Neeley, referring to her dog Dakota.

She says the same groomer became angry with Dakota because he kept trying to sit down.

"She was still very agitated with the situation, and she yanked him on his head even harder, and when she did, he bumped his nose," Neeley said. "His nose and mouth began bleeding."

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The incident was caught on the stores video, which Neeley says she watched.

"It was heartbreaking. I had tears running down my face," she said.

When the incident happened in April of 2020, Neeley says the manager told her the groomer was reprimanded.

As for Taz, Pets Supplies Plus in Spring told Bailor they would pay her $3,500 for Taz's vet bills. But first, she had to sign an agreement to not discuss the incident publicly or on social media.

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Bailor told us it was never about money and the company's demand for a full release of responsibility has added insult to injury.

Pet Supplies Plus released a statement saying, "The local owner of this independently operated family business, cares deeply about the Spring community's neighbors and pets and is extremely disappointed that this individual groomer did not follow stringent store and brand safety policies. Because the safety policies are such a high priority, the groomer's actions led to an immediate termination. In addition, last week — when the pet parent first made the store aware about the grooming incident that occurred in early December — the store's owner closed the grooming salon for safety retraining. The store is cooperating fully with the local investigation and is glad to hear that Taz is doing well."