Pet Washing Machine Coming to a Pet Store Near You: Video
Pet owners know that keeping their critters clean can be a real drag. While some dogs love water, even they seem to hate bath time, and trying to bathe a cat ... well ... let's just say that's a really bad idea. Getting someone else to do the washing for you makes the whole process a lot easier, but paying upwards of $50 for your average dog bath gets expensive. Enter the Pet Spa, an automated washing machine for pets that promises to do the same thing for just $15.
That is, of course, assuming you don't mind completely traumatizing Fluffy or Scruffy while watching as they writhe in misery.
The device looks something like an over-sized microwave, with a large opening through which you insert your pet. Once the door is shut (and presumably locked) you pay your money, punch in a few options (anti-flea spray? deodorant? under-body anti-rust coating?), and then stand back and watch as your pet throws a fit of epic proportions while jets of high-pressure suds whisk away all that nastiness, before driers blow them clean.
The machines are available for purchase at $30,000, but at that price they're obviously intended for installation in major pet stores. Given the impression of fear these boxes are likely to strike into the hearts of special cuddly ones, we suggest trying one of these out in a store you don't ever plan on entering again.
Now, are you actually going to try this? And, if not, tell us why, 'cause we think it looks kinda cool/convenient.
From OhGizmo!
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Reader Comments (Page 8 of 9)
ernie said 7:54PM on 11-10-2007
I don't care what anyone says that is funny. That cat looks like he is saying WTF! OH SHXX!
Hey, he isn't harmed, just wet and pissed. ROFLMAO
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A. Griffiths said 8:07PM on 11-10-2007
This is the most horrible and cruel invention I have seen in a long time. How could the owner watch his cat writhing in terror in that absurd machine without stopping it and taking her out of there?? If animals need washing, they should be washed by hand. This thing is a betrayal of trust between owner and pet, not to mention the danger of spraying jets of soapy water into sensitive eyes, noses and ears without human guidance. THUMBS DOWN.
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Sarah said 8:35PM on 11-10-2007
You people make me sick, not every thing is animal abuse. Soon its going to be cruel to eat plant's.
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Hmmmm.... said 8:37PM on 11-10-2007
That looks friggin cruel as sh*t. I would never ever use that crap. Are they French? Figures. stupid wee wee mother f******!!!
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cher said 8:39PM on 11-10-2007
It's cruel to the animal and traumatizing. Plus, just like going to a spray only car wash, we've all seen the dirt that still wipes off the car.
What a waste of machinery. If washing or having your pet groomed is such a hassle.. don't get one.
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KELLI2L said 9:00PM on 11-10-2007
THIS SOUNDS MORE LIKE A TORTURE DEVICE. THERE MAY BE TOO MANY THINGS THAT CAN GO WRONG.
IN MY OWN SINK I CAN MAKE SURE THE WATER DOESN'T GET TOO HOT; I CAN REGULATE THE AMOUNT OF SUDS 'ON' AND SUDS 'OFF' - I LIKE NEW TECHNOLOGY BUT NOT AT THE RISK OF MY PETS SAFETY.
WHAT IF THE LOCK JAMS AND YOU CAN'T GET 'FIDO' OUT?
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KELLI2L said 9:01PM on 11-10-2007
I JUST WATCHED THE VIDEO AND THAT IS A TORTURE MACHINE. THE PETS WHOLE BODY IS IN THIS THING, FACE AND ALL. IF YOU CHOOSE THE FLEA SPRAY - IT WILL GET INTO THE PETS EYES, MOUTH, EARS, etc. NOT A GOOD THING AT ALL. THIS INVENTION SHOULD BE OUTLAWED. WAIT TILL 'PETA' FINDS OUT ABOUT THIS. THE POOR PETS WOULD JUST FREAK OUT, BIG TIME.
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Anne Wingate said 9:22PM on 11-10-2007
Anybody who thinks this is funny, especially the cat, needs a psychiatrist. This is cruelty to animals. Most dogs and, when necessary, cats can be easily washed at home, if they trust their people. We did always take the precaution of closing the bathroom door, so that if the pet leaped out of the tub he or she couldn't get onto all the furniture while still wet, but for the most part there was no complaining. And by the way, whoever said that dogs are smarter than cats, oh no they aren't. They're too smart to let people control them the way the people control the dogs. We've had cats who taught themselves to use the toilet and to open locked doors. They knew what time the kids needed to be home from school and what time they were supposed to be indoors. Once when my husband was working out of town and coming home on Friday night, every Friday night the cat would go and sit by the front door five minutes before Fred walked in, although the times he got home varied widely.
I have had cats all my life, until my health deteriorated several years ago. When I have had dogs as well, the dogs knew to walk small around the cats. The cats and dogs both knew that the cats were higher in the pecking order than the dogs were. Several of our cats regularly beat up any dog who came into our yard (this was when we didn't have dogs ourselves). One of our cats once beat up a duck who outweighed her at least three times. The poor duck never fully recovered.
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Anne Wingate said 9:31PM on 11-10-2007
I forgot to mention that at the same time that we had the cat who could tell time and could unlock the garage door and open it, we had a cocker spaniel who was too stupid to learn to use the dog door. My daughter and I sat on opposite sides of the door and pushed him back and forth through it repeatedly, but he still didn't get it until one day one of the cats was chasing him and got him cornered near the dog door. He tried to put on the brakes, but on our hardwood floor he slid right through the dog door. He was one astonished animal. We still had to push him back and forth through the door about ten more times before he realized he could come in through it as well as go out through it.
Another time one of the cats kept rolling uxoriously in front of the dog. He finally got the idea and got up and started chasing her. Every now and then she would lie down and roll a few more times and then get up to be chased. Meanwhile I was yelling, "Stop that, you two, you've both been neutered and you're not even the same species!" My husband was roaring with laughter at all three of us.
When one of the animals wanted to be chased, he or she would go nudge another animal. If the other animal declined to chase, the animal that wanted to be chased was quite disappointed.
Dogs and cats can be an endless source of amusement. But they don't belong in washing machines of any kind.
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Sally Wieck said 10:17PM on 11-10-2007
What in the hell are we coming to when we cannot take care of our pets. Why would ANYONE put their pet into a "washing machine" to bathe them when THEY - THE OWNER FOR CHRIST'S SAKE - has committed to do these chores themselves when they take on the responsibility of caring for a pet. We, in this country, are "going to hell in a hand basket" (old saying) - when we feel we must pay for services we ourselves should be doing for our kids, our families, and yes - even our pets !!!!!
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cmz said 10:31PM on 11-10-2007
This is disgusting Worked in vet med for 20 years, this is pure animal abuse. Was difficult to watch, sick to my stomach. These people should be reported. Assholes
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Rockys Daddy said 10:56PM on 11-10-2007
Actually, unless it's been exposed to man made contaminants, such as insecticides, or petroleum products, pets need to be brushed, and rubbed with a towel, NOT bathed,as this can remove essential oils and irritate skin.
Bathing is a nicety contrived for OUR benefit, NOT the animals.
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BigEd said 11:23PM on 11-10-2007
BOYCOTT PETSMART> I would never expose my dog to such frighting experience. I consider putting any pet into that piece of trash. BOYCOTT....
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That'sick said 12:04PM on 11-11-2007
That is sick! It's like throwing your animal in a diswasher with a window. I can just imagine the abuse. People using the wrong temp settings, etc. Are we really that lazy?
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Zeke said 5:18PM on 11-11-2007
HORRIBLE! No way. “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” -Mahatma Gandhi
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Nancy said 4:46PM on 11-11-2007
Not only do I think this is an inhumane device, I am going to be sure to let ALL the vets and pet groomers I can find KNOW about these torture chambers!! NO PET OWNER, VET OR GROOMERS in their right mind would subject an animal to this!!!
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Mary said 5:34PM on 11-11-2007
I hope that first cat laid on its master's face while he/she was sleeping later that night and smothered him/her. This is a ridiculous invention!
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Kira7Dax said 12:01PM on 4-05-2008
THIS machine, I think, is for adults who are afraid to CONNECT through touch! How SAD and SCARY!
I wash my own FIVE cats a couple of times a year! I do this to keep down allergens - I used to be allergic, a lot! Now, Not At All!
Maybe it's me, maybe it's them, maybe it's because I do it "regularly" ... Not ONE makes a "fit"! Range: One PURRRRR-rrrrs in the water and suds, to one that does meow in outspoken fashion, "giving his opinion"! - but NOBODY struggles and panics!
I think it's because of the ABSOLUTE soothing COMBINATION of voice, attitude and hands/touch. AND, just as though I parenting to little kids, I don't lie to them - I tell them it's time for "Bath", and they look dejected, but resigned, because "I'm the 'Mom', and what I say, goes!"
I prepare a nice, chest-deep sudsy bath of Johnson's no-tear conditioning shampoo in very week solution in the warm, not hot, bath water. Touching and holding and reassuring them, I suds them deep in the fur with a washcloth, all over.
They get rinsed with the 5-foot extended shower head, and they GET PRAISED CONSTANTLY. Afterwards, they are cuddled, yes, soaking! Toweled as best can be (yes it takes 2 bath towels each!), praised some more, sometimes helped to dry with the cool/warm setting of my hair dryer ..
NOT ONE of them panics, or scratches, or fights ... Happy? -No! 'Can't blame them for that! But I have allergies, and it's a way of life ...
That contraption caters to the emotionally crippled, 'me thinks ... and CRUELTY.
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Isabeau said 11:10PM on 11-12-2007
Rodney Field says:
As long as we support the SPCA, I don't think this will be coming to an American pet store soon.
Actually a store in Lexington, Kentucky has had one for a few months now. I've seen a dog of the long-snouted variety in there going through the cycle. He didn't look very happy.
We have another pet store that has a nice washing area you can rent for $10.00 an hour. Has a sink with a ramp and a drying cabinet, a hand dryer, lots of shampoo and towels. I can wash 3 or 4 of mine if I hustle. Now THAT is a good idea!
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annabelle said 4:13PM on 11-14-2007
So, yeah, I would never, NEVER put my pet in that machine. I also would never pay someone else to bathe my pet. For cats and any other animals that do not like getting wet, they make these wonderful Wipes. Like baby wipes only for animals. Just rub through their coat and it gets them clean. Not any more traumatic than applying flea drops. This machine is animal abuse, and I will boycott any store that installs one.
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