Tear-jerking story sheds light on why you shouldn’t use human hair dye on pets

A dog in Florida that nearly died from human hair dye has basically generated a PSA for pet owners everywhere.

Pinellas County Animal Services posted on its Facebook page Tuesday afternoon the story of little 5-pound, Maltese mix Violet. Violet was brought into the shelter a few months ago with hair dyed purple, eyes swollen shut, and obvious burns to her skin.

“We gave fluids, pain meds and we gently washed as much of the chemical dye off as we could,” PCAS said.

Violet was then sent home with a veterinarian to monitor whether she would live through the night.

The next day, staff began shaving Violet’s hair off to assess the severity of the burns.

“We began the arduous process of shaving off her hair to really measure the damage – to our horror, her skin began to slough off. Good thing Violet was peacefully anesthetized. It was so much worse than we initially thought – how would this little dog make it through?!?!”

Luckily the story took a turn for the best. With the proper TLC and tons of medication, Violet recovered and was eventually adopted by owners who specialize in beautifying pets.

By using Violet’s story, PCAS is urging pet owners to never use human hair dye on animals.

“Express yourself, but please do not use hair dye intended for humans to express your pet’s style…Chemicals in hair dye are TOXIC causing a wide array of external injury to your pet – possible burns, blindness and because an animal’s first instinct is to lick, it can cause poisoning or internal burns. Just don’t.”