A dog owner in Thailand has come under fire for dyeing her pooch’s ears bright red, after a severe allergic reaction to the dye allegedly caused one of the animal’s ears to fall off.

The unnamed woman reportedly took her adorable Pomeranian, Diffy, to a grooming salon in Hua Hin, last week, to have its ears and tail dyed. The staff carried out a ‘foil wrap’ dyeing procedure, covering the dog’s ears and tail with red dye and leaving them covered in aluminum foil for 40 minutes. The owner was very happy with Diffy’s new look, but quickly noticed that her ears had drooped, even though they had always pointed up before they dyeing procedure. She asked the grooming salon staff about it, but was told that the drooping was normal and that Diffy’s ears would be back to normal in two or three days. Sadly, that turned out to be a lie.

Photos: Facebook/Ampaipan Wachaporn

Hours after leaving the grooming salon, the woman noticed that Diffy was exhibiting symptoms of an allergic reaction, like itchy skin on the ears, which later started flaking. Worried, she turned to social media for advice, posting this message on Facebook:

“Before the dye, my dog’s ears were up. But after I went to the pet store and the dog stylist colored his ear with aluminium foil for 40 minutes without heat, I took him home and his ears turned out like this. They were folded down. The stylist said that I have to wait for two or three days and his ears will recover. Has anybody experienced this before?”

The woman received some advice from dog owners who had previously dyed their pets’ fur, but it didn’t seem to help much, as Diffy’s condition only got worse, and one day one of her ears allegedly fell off. She once again took to Facebook to report the shocking development, posting a photo of the ear and taking responsibility for the tragic outcome.

“Diffy’s left ear is now falling off because of the colour dye,” the desperate dog owner wrote. “The pet groomer put too much dye on him. My dog’s ear was itchy, burnt, turned black, cracked, and eventually fell off. I don’t blame the grooming store but I blame myself for wanting to have his ears dyed.”

The story quickly went viral on Thai social media, with most commenters calling the dog owner irresponsible and cruel for getting her pet’s fur dyed.

“This dog’s ear looks like it suffered an allergic reaction and was burned. Then it fell off. Her ear is gone forever. It’s all the owner’s fault for trying to color them,” one person wrote.

 

“I feel sorry for the dog. They are not strong enough to endure all situations and can be easily harmed. I don’t understand why the owner would put them through this suffering,” another Facebook user commented.

Coconuts Bangkok reports that while most people voiced their contempt with the irresponsible dog owner, some people accused her of faking the whole thing for attention, claiming that it was biologically impossible for Diffy’s ear to simply fall of like that. However, one of the veterinarians at Rama 8 Pet Hospital, in Bangkok, disagrees.

“The chemical could have burned the ear off, the salon could have done it too harshly, the dog could have developed a severe allergy to the dye. This could have been caused by a lot of reasons,” the vet said.

 

Hopefully, this sad story will act as a cautionary tale for other dog owners who see their pets as fashion accessories.