Mario, a poodle who lives in Singapore, was brought by Lee Taiseng to a pet salon in Bukit Batok, Singapore for its routine shampoo and trim session.

Later that day, Lee Taiseng, the owner of Mario, received a call from the manager of the pet salon, who said that the groomer accidentally slit the tongue of Mario.

The manager initially said that the groomer’s scissors caused a “small slit” in the tongue of Mario.

Lee said he was horrified after learning that Mario got injured.

But when Lee and his partner went to the vets, they found out that the tongue of Mario was dangling off.

The doctors at the vets had to amputate a part of Mario’s tongue.

Lee is now seeking a lifetime supply of food, dog supplements, and grooming from the salon.

Lee Taiseng said, “Can you imagine the shock and horror we felt when we found out the ‘slit’ was actually a cut that extended three-quarters diagonally through his tongue? We had no idea how long Mario was left bleeding for – and they admitted that they did not inform me immediately after the incident happened.”

Lee added,  “According to the vet, Mario’s tongue could have been saved if they had acted responsibly enough to rush Mario to the vet as soon as possible. Due to the extended duration of inaction [estimated to be for a few hours], the dangling portion of the tongue had to be amputated, leaving Mario [with] a shorter tongue. It was a painful recovery for Mario, who had to be syringe and spoon-fed until he learned how to lick up his food and water with a shortened tongue.”

The salon covered the vet’s fees.

But Lee insists that the owners do not want to do more.

The owners of the Paws Chu Kang Salon in Singapore apologized for the inconvenience.

A statement was released by the Paws Chu Kang Salon.

They said, “I would like to express my sincerest apologies to Mr. Lee and Mrs. Lee on what had happened to Mario during his grooming session with one of my ex-staff. The previous employee we hired, and who committed the mistake is a licensed and experienced groomer with more than five years experience in the grooming industry.”

They added, “The groomer is no longer employed with us. As a dog owner myself, I understand how terrified and painful Mario must have felt during the incident. Thus, I have been following up with Mrs. Lee (Mr. Lee’s wife) responsibly and rendered all assistance within my capability from the day this incident occurred.”

Local media reports that the owners offered compensation of 1,300 Singaporean Dollars, but was rejected by the owners of Mario.

The employee who caused the injury has also left the salon.