Staph infection from groomers

Question
I took my toy poodle in to be groomed and he needed to be shaved due to matting. Within hours of bringing him home I noticed his tail and hindquarters were bright red. I called the groomers and they called it "razor burn" from being shaved. By the next day his tail was oozing puss and we went to the vet. He has a staph infection. Did he get it from a dirty grooming shop? I don't count it coincidence that he was healthy going in and had staph coming out. A friend says the groomer should refund my money and even pay the vet bill. The groomer disagrees. Do I have any recourse and what if the groomer is infecting other dogs?

Answer
Dear Dawn,
There are 2 people at fault here. I can sugar coat it or tell you the truth. It does no one any good to sugar coat it. Maybe it will help you to understand and avoid it in the future, because this can happen again. You need to groom your dog regularly - every 4 weeks if you want a longer coat. Matting is never a good sign. If you can't afford it then you better start learning at the very least, how to brush and comb your dog. It is YOUR dog and YOUR responsibility.
Unfortunately, this is a pretty common occurrence in the pet world. For several reasons.
All dogs have staf on their skin at all times. How you maintain your dog has a direct correlation to what happens under just the circumstance that you describe. A grooming salon should have a disclosure statement for you to sign if a dog needs to be clipper stripped due to matting. Sometimes sensitive skin becomes irritated when a clipper which has been running hard to get through the matts and gets overheated. Over brushing the coat to remove some of the matting- if that is even possible- will break the skin and also "burn" it. Whenever these things happen, the staf that lives normally on the skin can bloom. It is the so-called perfect storm for staf infections especially when the dog starts to scratch, lick, rub itself.  This whole thing just set off the chain of events that are the biological time clock of life.
Now I don't necessarily agree with the way the groomer handled the situation. Most groomers offer to pay the vet bill when this happens on their watch. It is an acceptable practice. When you went into this shop - how did it look to you? Did it smell? Was it dirty? Unorganized? Were the other dogs there uncomfortable?  If you answered yes to any of these questions you should have walked out. Have you been there before and did the people working there have any certification or statement of length of time they were in business? Did you chose them because of the price or a recommendation? If you read back on previous answers I can assure my experience is  you that you get what you pay for.
I would not go back to the shop if I were you but would certainly start looking NOW for a new place that will make certain that this won't happen if you do your part in the future. Ask who grooms the dogs and how much experience do they have. Who preps and bathes dogs if it is not the groomer? Do they cage or hand dry? Both? How long do you have to leave the dog? Some people leave their dogs there all day. I don't believe in that either. It is not a day care center and the 2 should never be combined in the same facility in my opinion. Next door down the street maybe but not the same premise.
I am sorry you had this experience but it should be ok in a short time and maybe you will be able to make a more informed decision next time and get more involved in the grooming of your dog on a one to one basis as well.
best of luck.