Dogfight erupts after grooming appointment in Chino

CHINO, Calif. (KABC) -- A dogfight erupted recently between the owner of a Chino pet grooming salon and a maltese poodle owner who said her beloved Poopsie was injured in the shop.

The confrontation caught on video got so heated that police had to be called.

The incident began when Alicia Howlette brought the 7-year-old Poopsie to AAA Wagging Tails in Chino for grooming. She said when she got Poopsie back, the dog had cuts on his leg, underarm and tail.

She went back to the shop with her cousin and asked for a refund, but said that owner Linda Davis refused to even look at the dog. A heated argument ensued that involved Davis spitting on Howlette's cousin and cursing at them, according to Howlette.

Howlette filmed the end of the fight and posted it online in an effort to warn people away from the shop.

But the store's owner and an employee said Poopsie had been neglected and had the cuts on him when he arrived.

Davis posted Howlette's former address on Facebook and called Howlette's claims "lies."

She wrote that Poopsie "was brought to our shop in extremely poor condition. ... We are not miracle workers and can not always fix what she thought we could. We did our best on her dog."

Store employee Meghan McGrattan said Howlette came to the shop angry.

"She'd come in guns blazing," McGrattan said. "She was very irate with me. I was the one that greeted her when she first came in. I told her we wouldn't give her her money back. She did receive a service."

But Howlette insists Poopsie was fine before he was brought to the shop and notes that the store's own scorecard didn't note any problems.

"I think she's just trying to make me look bad, saying I neglected my dog," Howlette said. "But I really didn't. She even put here that he was good."