Running With Scissors

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86 – October, 2026

By Wayne Cavanaugh

By now, we’ve all heard about the horrific and heart-wrenching incident of a young dog dying in a noose on a grooming table, even while being attended to by someone. Stories and rumors quickly circulated, as expected. But no one really knows all of the facts and circumstances until it’s thoroughly investigated–hopefully without bias. We can only hope the process works, justice is fairly served, and thoughtful discussions bring positive change. For now, one thing is clear—we hurt for the dog, his owners, and the sport.

Only solution-based discussions have a chance to create change. If you’re looking to read some scathing fire-and-brimstone discourse of blame, you won’t find it here. Instead, my intention is to take a retrospective look at how we got here in the first place. How did we come to accept seeing lines of dogs on tables, in nooses, unattended?

Have we become a grooming competition, a fastest-runner competition? Is evaluating breeding stock a thing of the past? Can all judges recognize a dog that is not groomed to perfection in today’s style, and if so, do they have the confidence to reward it if it is the best dog?

First, let’s take a look at how a few seemingly innocuous household items created outsized changes in our sport.

Click here to read the complete article
86 – October, 2026

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Posted by AnthonyA on Oct 7 2026. Filed under Current Articles, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.