One of the biggest nightmares for pet parents is when your pet suddenly gets sick with no clear explanation or warning in sight.
That’s what one woman says happened to her German Shepherd, and she believes the incident was tied to a recent visit to Tractor Supply’s pet wash station.
In a recent storytime video posted by Vanessa (@vanessa_t1216) on TikTok, she shared what condition her dog contracted and her theory on how the Tractor Supply wash may have caused it. Her video got over 211,700 views.
What Allegedly Went Wrong At Tractor Supply?
“I almost lost my dog this week from a bath at Tractor Supply,” she begins.
Vanessa says she has a 2-year-old German Shepherd named Athena. She gave Athena a bath at Tractor Supply on a Wednesday, which was not unusual for them.
“I’ve never had an issue, whether it be using my own shampoo or the shampoo they provide, or the towels they provide, or the space they provide,” she says.
Vanessa explains that bathing Athena at home is difficult because the dog is large, slippery, and likes to jump out of the shower. So she took her to Tractor Supply as she had done before.
This time, however, she was running low on her own shampoo, so she used the shampoo provided at the pet wash station.
The next morning, while Vanessa was taking an exam for school, she noticed that something was off.
“She was laying on my bed and I noticed that her ears were pinned back the whole time,” Vanessa says.
German Shepherd owners know that that is unusual. Vanessa says Athena could barely keep her eyes open, started shaking, and kept hiding from her.
“She would run into her crate and not want to come out. Or under the dining table, under my desk, and just would not want to come out,” she says.
At first, Vanessa thought maybe Athena was just tired. Then she tried to brush her.
“I brushed her from her neck to her back, and when I hit between her shoulder blades, she screamed, cried, and ran away from me,” Vanessa says.
That’s when Vanessa knew something was seriously wrong.
Athena Went To The ER
Vanessa says she found an emergency vet and rushed Athena there. On the way, Athena was in the back seat of the car “barely keeping her eyes open,” hunched over, and not acting like herself.
Once they got to the ER, the veterinary team took Athena in almost immediately. Vanessa says Athena had a 104-degree fever and pain between her shoulders.
The vet asked about flea and tick prevention and tested for heartworm and tick-borne illness. Vanessa also told the vet that Athena had been bathed the day before. At first, she wondered whether Athena might have pulled a muscle or hurt her neck from trying to jump out of the tub.
Then the vet brought up another possibility.
“Sometimes dogs can develop this infection called post-grooming folliculitis after a bath,” Vanessa recalls the vet saying.
Vanessa says the vet checked Athena’s back and found redness and a small pustule-looking spot. Athena was sent home with antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, and pain medication.
Her Symptoms Escalated
But the next day, things got worse. Vanessa says Athena did not want to eat, drink, or do anything.
Then Athena started bleeding from her back.
“She’s bleeding from her back, and they’re taking paper towels and dabbing the blood because it’s dripping from her back,” Vanessa says.
By Saturday, Athena was in so much pain that something brushing against her back made her scream in the car. Vanessa took her back for emergency care.
At the second clinic, vets sedated Athena and shaved her back to see what was going on. Vanessa says she started “violently sobbing” when she saw it.
“It looked like she had a chemical burn on her back,” Vanessa says. “It looked like her skin was melting off, it was raw, it was bloody, it was ulcerated.”
She says most of the damage was focused between Athena’s shoulder blades, where the pain had started.
“It was horrific,” she says.
The vets increased Athena’s antibiotics, changed her pain medication, continued her anti-inflammatory, and gave her light therapy treatment. Vanessa says Athena is now slowly getting better, but the whole ordeal was painful and terrifying.
“It breaks my heart to see her like this,” she says. “She’s two years old. She’s a very active puppy. We go running together, we go walking, we go hiking, we play ball every day.”
Vanessa says she called Tractor Supply and told them they needed to clean the pet wash station because her dog had contracted a severe infection after using it. She also says she and her boyfriend emailed the company.
“I just don’t want this to happen to another dog,” she says.
How Did Tractor Supply Respond?
After some unsuccessful attempts at reaching the company, Vanessa shared an update thanking her viewers.
Thanks to their tags and messages to Tractor Supply, she says the company reached out to her, and they are “working on a resolution right now.”
She also says Athena is doing much better, and that she will continue sharing her progress and healing with her newfound TikTok community.
How Does Post-Grooming Furunculosis Develop In Dogs?
According to a veterinarian’s explanation on ToeGrips, post-grooming furunculosis usually shows up within the first 24 to 48 hours after grooming.
The blog post explains that it can happen when the skin or hair follicle gets traumatized or irritated during grooming, especially after vigorous scrubbing or brushing the fur in the wrong direction. If that skin barrier is compromised, bacteria have an easier way in.
The bacteria causing this condition are Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which can live in wet environments. That means damp grooming tools, contaminated shampoo bottles, old shampoo, diluted shampoo, or equipment that is not properly cleaned can become a problem.
To avoid post-grooming furunculosis in dogs, pet parents should keep grooming products clean and dry, throw away old shampoo instead of refilling bottles, properly disinfect tools, brush gently, and avoid brushing the hair backward.
Commenters Were Horrified
In the comments, many viewers were horrified by what happened to Athena.
“You should talk to a lawyer… Tractor supply needs to cover vet bills at minimum,” one commenter wrote.
Another said they had used self-wash stations without knowing this could happen.
“I’m a frequent user of Pet Supplies Plus’ self wash station and I had no idea this was a possibility,” they said. “Thank you for sharing!!”
One person who said they work at Tractor Supply also weighed in.
“I work at tsc and we’re currently switching over shampoo brands for our pet wash stations, not sure if its related to this specifically,” they wrote. “But I will say the only cleaning that goes on in there is a disinfectant spray between every bath and a rinse down to get all the hair.”
Another commenter said the grooming shop where they work takes shampoo bottles very seriously.
“The shop where I work always bleaches the shampoo bottles for the DIY stations every day,” they wrote. “Never keep diluted shampoo for any reason.”
@vanessa_t1216 LONG ASS VIDEO SORRY!! The story of how I almost lost my 2 year old GSD to a BATH. If anyone has questions I’m happy to answer but I doubt this will go anywhere, just wanted to share our on going story and spread awareness! #tractorsupply #dogsoftiktok #dogs #germansgepherdsoftiktok #vetmed
BroBible has reached out to Tractor Supply via email and Vanessa via TikTok messages for comment.