OHMIDOG! : Groomers? use of drying cages under fire

Last September, Thomas Bruckner*dropped his*2-year-old puggle off*at a doggie daycare and spa in Hicksville, N.Y. for grooming.
Later that day, he learned that* the dog, named Bailey had gone into a coma — apparently while spending time in a drying cage. Bailey died the next day, of what a veterinarian said was heatsroke.
Bruckner, who*teaches astronomy at Nassau*Community College, received a $1,000 out of court settlement for his dog’s death. Now he’s seeking to ban drying cages, and get laws passed that require groomers to be licensed, according to Newsday.
Bruckner has launched his own website badgroomer.com to publicize his mission. And he supports a bill introduced in January by state Sen. Carl Kruger (D-Brooklyn), to ban drying cages, require groomers to take exams and license grooming parlors.
A drying cage is a basically dog crate, with a tube or hair dryer blowing air inside - sometimes hot, sometimes not. They are commonly used, but at least a half dozen dogs nationwide have died in them, and experts say small dogs, or those*with short snouts*should be closely monitored if put into a drying cage.
To this day, I still feel awful this happened,” said Carlos Garcia, manager of the Pampered Pooch. Garcia said Bailey put up a “lot of resistance” during grooming, which may have caused her to overheat. He said non-heated air was used in the drying cage.
Jeffrey Reynolds, executive director of the National Dog Groomers Association of America in Clark, Pa., said the association is not against regulation, but opposes banning the cages. “They are very useful and every grooming shop has them, but because of a lack of knowledge or common sense, someone will put a tiny dog in the dryer, answer the phone and forget about it,” he said.



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